A pioneering automatic cone-placing and retrieving truck has taken to the road for the first time.
Brisbane-based roading equipment manufacturer Arrowes Roading Safety has launched the innovative automated cone truck (ACT) which removes traffic control workers from the line of fire.
It replaces the need for roadworkers to manually lift and retrieve traffic cones with live traffic rushing past them and is operated solely by the driver.
The proof-of-concept was first unveiled in October last year and after successfully completing extensive off-highway testing the vehicle has now taken to the road network on highways through Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.
A trial is now underway on the Sydney Road to Edgars Road section of Melbourne’s M80 upgrade, which is being jointly funded by the Australian and Victorian governments and delivered by Major Road Projects Victoria (MRPV) and CPB Contractors.
Placing and retrieving traffic cones is still a difficult manual task undertaken by roadworkers either standing on the rear of a vehicle or done on foot.
To date, ergonomics experts have struggled to identify a suitable method of placing and retrieving traffic cones that does not have an adverse impact on workers due to constant twisting of the body, repetitive manual lifting of heavy cones, or involve working in close proximity to dangerous live traffic.
Typically, traffic cone crews carry 50-60 cones onboard their vehicles which is enough to close approximately 1km of road.
Once the crew has run out of cones, another crew must enter with more cones onboard for the next 1km of road closure, and so on, until the full length of road to be closed is complete.
However, the ACT can hold 400 traffic cones onboard which greatly increases the distance of road that can be closed consecutively with the same vehicle.
Arrowes says it contributed millions of dollars to the research and development of the vehicle and has filed patents for the intellectual property which is believed to be the first commercially available automated cone truck in the world.
The company’s workshop is in Brendale, QLD, and all the development and build of the ACT has been performed in-house by its locally employed workforce.
The ACT is available for pre-order now and its expected that more of the trucks will be seen on roads and motorways by the end of 2021.
According to the Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety, it is estimated that each year in Australia at least 50 deaths and 750 injuries occur to workers and the public in road worksite crashes which carries an associated cost to Australia of over $400m.
Department of Transport and Main Roads Queensland director general Neil Scales says he commends Arrowes for the new technology which will go a long way to improving the safety of workers.
“It is a priority that we keep up everybody’s attention and focus on road safety. Any innovation that can help protect workers and everyone else on our roads, is welcomed by my department.
“When road workers put cones out on the road and more importantly collect them at the end of the works, it is vital they are safe,” Scales says.
Fulton Hogan NZ traffic management national manager Damien Houlahan says he also welcomes the automated cone truck “as it will undoubtedly improve the safety of road workers responsible for cone deployment”.
“We are always seeking new innovations to put people in safer positions while they are undertaking road works, to illuminate the risks associated with putting them in live unpredictable traffic.
“Traditionally, many core tasks have been carried out on foot and it is here that we have a massive opportunity to improve safety and save lives.
“I have been in traffic management over the last 13 years and have witnessed many failed attempts to automate the setting and collection of cones.
“The Arrowes team have pulled off a groundbreaking innovation with the ACT – a true game-changer,” Houlahan says.
