The safety of highways and roads depends on maintenance, upkeep, and regulation. The job of a traffic technician is to maintain safety by performing a variety of responsibilities that enhances road safety and efficiency. Traffic technicians are also called traffic-control technicians or traffic analysts.
A traffic technician is responsible for conducting field studies. These studies are used to determine the effectiveness of signals, traffic volumes, and other factors that could heavily influence road conditions. The ultimate goal of the technician is to keep road conditions safe.
Once the traffic technician has gathered appropriate information, he can make proposals or suggestions based on their findings. These proposals are normally used to implement methods to positively benefit traffic flow. For example, a traffic technician may suggest the removal of a road sign to expedite traffic flow are increase lighting in a particular area to give drivers better visibility.
Traffic technicians are vital in creating traffic control policies, plans, and procedures. They serve as an integral part in transportation safety, since role is vital in keeping highways and streets safe in their respective communities. It is also important that technicians who create policies have a firm awareness of financial planning. Roads, highways, traffic signs and signals are often funded with tax dollars. The technician must be able to produce quality reports with cost estimates for roadway improvements.
To become a traffic technician, a person must have at least a high school diploma. Some traffic technicians have a degree in civil engineering or other engineering specialty field. The traffic technician must also have a good understanding of city planning, physics, and statistics. When a traffic technician is hired, they often enter a training program in which they can gain practical experiencing under the supervision of experienced technicians and traffic engineers.
Traffic technicians typically work under the supervision of a traffic engineer. The traffic engineer is often responsible for large projects such as the building or maintenance of roads and highway overpasses. This professional is often employed by governmental organizations such as federal highway agencies. They usually work for state, county, or city governments. A smaller percentage of traffic technicians are employed with private institutions such as consulting firms.
A traffic technician should expect to spend a significant amount of their work schedule on the road. On the road, they will often spend time analyzing traffic patterns and observing possibilities for better designs of highways or streets. Technicians make roads more efficient for the drivers that travel on them.