Incident
Investigation -- Tips, Techniques & Trivia
It's
been a while since I sent out a newsletter and over the last
couple of months a few of you have called asking what happened.
Apparently, some of you actual read these and find them helpful
and that's gratifying.
I hadn't planned to offer any public classes until October,
but given the number of calls I've been getting I've decided
to bump these sessions up and will offer them in September.
Jeff
Temporary Traffic Control Devices
Improper temporary traffic control can result
in collisions with serious injury, death and subsequent litigation
against government entities, contractors, sub contractors, and
utility companies. By their nature, these zones create obstacles
with which motorists can collide, divert motorists' attention
from the driving task, and expose workers to hazardous situations.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA) reviewed over 1000 fatalities involving temporary traffic
control situations and developed a list of defects found to have
been contributing factors. Here's a few of the key factors.
- Failure to have and then follow the approved
traffic control plan.
- Failure to use flaggers who have been adequately
trained in safe temporary traffic control practices.
- Failure to protect motorists from pavement
edge drop-offs.
- Failure to obtain proper permits to work on
public right-of-way
- Improper advance warning sign spacing and use
of non-standard traffic control devices.
- Failure to remove conflicting pavement markings.
- Placement of temporary traffic control devices
where they limit sight distance.
- Failure to inspect temporary traffic control
zones to insure that all traffic control devices are properly
maintained and positioned in accordance with the traffic control
plan.
Closing
the Interview
The last 10% of the interview is often the most
important as this is when the greatest amount of information,
per unit of time, is exchanged. At a minimum you should ask the
person if there is anything else they want to tell you or if they
have any questions.
Asking interviewees, "are there any questions
you thought I might ask that I didn't?" always generates
an interesting reply. Remember you can only ask questions about
what is known, and this question frequently uncovers information
that the investigator simply had no knowledge of.
When closing, the witness should be assured that
the interview has been valuable. Thank them and tell them what
will happen now. They should be encouraged to contact the investigator
at a later date if they want to provide additional information
or wish to enquire about the progress of the investigation. Even
better, put the onus on yourself to call them in a few days to
inquire about their welfare. This is frequently rewarded with
additional information that the interviewee recalled after leaving
the interview. People will seldom ever call the investigator.
Make that call!
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