Hiring a Traffic Control Company: 12 Questions to Ask Before the First Shift

If you run a construction project, a utility crew, a municipal maintenance program or a special event, sooner or later you will hire a traffic control company. It is tempting to treat the choice like buying a commodity — cones are cones, get three quotes, take the lowest.

That is a mistake. The traffic control company you hire decides how safe your work zone is for your own crews, how well it meets the agency's standards, whether your job starts on time, and what the paper trail looks like if something goes wrong. The stakes are real: FHWA's work zone facts and statistics record 891 work zone fatalities and 94 worker fatalities in 2022.

Here are twelve questions to ask before the first shift, and what a good answer sounds like. This is general guidance. Your prime contract, permit and agency requirements set the minimum, and they may require things this list does not mention.

Qualifications and safety

1. Who will actually be on my job, and what are they certified for?

Flagging and traffic control are skilled work. The national manual's guidance on flagger qualifications, in Section 6D.01 of the MUTCD 11th Edition, Part 6, describes the abilities flaggers should demonstrate and says they should be trained. Many states require certified flaggers, and many agencies require a certified supervisor or technician. ATSSA, a major training provider, notes on its certification page that flagger certification standards vary by state and that its technician and supervisor certifications are valid for up to four years.

Good answer: the company names the certifications its crews hold, for your state, and explains how it checks that the people it dispatches are current. Our post on tracking crew qualifications before dispatch describes what that process should look like.

2. How do you handle safety on your crews?

OSHA ties construction flagging to Part 6 of the MUTCD in 29 CFR 1926.201. Beyond compliance, ask about the company's safety program, its training, its high-visibility apparel standard, and its record.

Good answer: a written program, a named safety person, tailgate meetings, and a willingness to share safety metrics your prime contract may require. Our guide to measuring safety performance covers what those metrics usually are.

3. What insurance do you carry?

Good answer: certificates provided promptly, limits that meet your contract, and additional insured status where required. Our post on insurance and bonding for traffic control contractors explains the common coverages.

Standards and planning

4. Do you work regularly with this agency's standards?

Every state layers its own manual, standard drawings or specifications on top of the national MUTCD. A company that knows the local standard sheets and inspectors avoids rework.

Good answer: specific experience with the agency, and familiarity with its standard drawings. Our overview of how state DOT work zone requirements vary explains why this matters.

5. Who prepares, submits and maintains the traffic control plan?

This is one of the most common gaps between a prime and a traffic control subcontractor. Some agencies require plans from a qualified or licensed professional; our post on who can prepare a traffic control plan covers the variations.

Good answer: a clear statement of what the company provides — plan preparation, submittal, field changes, maintenance — and what it does not, in writing.

6. What happens when the plan does not fit the field?

Field conditions rarely match the drawing. Ask how the company handles changes, who has authority to approve them, and how they are documented.

Good answer: changes go through the approval process the agency requires, and they are recorded. Our guide to field changes to an approved plan covers the process.

Capacity and reliability

7. Do you have the equipment and crews for my schedule?

Ask about the fleet — arrow boards, message boards, attenuator trucks, device inventory — and how many crews the company can put out at once, especially for night work or peaks.

Good answer: specific numbers, and honesty about what they would need to rent or subcontract.

8. What happens at 4:45 a.m. when someone calls in sick?

Reliability is decided by what happens on bad mornings.

Good answer: a dispatch process with backup people and a commitment to call you early if a job is at risk, rather than show up late.

9. How do you handle emergencies and after-hours callouts?

If your work can produce emergency needs — a utility break, a failed closure, an incident — ask about response times and after-hours contacts.

Paperwork and billing

10. What will the daily ticket show, and who signs it?

The daily ticket is what you will be billed on. It should show the closure, devices, crew and hours in the units you are paying for.

Good answer: a ticket completed and signed on site each day, with a copy sent to you the same day. Our guide to preventing daily ticket disputes explains what a good ticket contains.

11. How is each item priced and measured?

Lane closures, device-days, flagger hours, attenuator trucks, minimums, standby and damage terms all need definitions.

Good answer: a rate sheet with measurement rules that match what the ticket records.

12. What happens to damaged or lost equipment?

If the company's devices are damaged or go missing on your job, who pays, and how is it documented?

Good answer: written terms, and condition documentation at drop-off and pickup. Our post on tracking damaged and lost rental equipment covers the method.

Red flags

• Vague answers about certifications, or none at all for your state.
• No certificate of insurance until after the job starts.
• "We'll figure out the plan on site."
• Paper tickets that arrive weeks later, or no tickets at all.
• A price far below the others with no explanation of what is excluded.

For traffic control companies reading this

If you run a traffic control company, this list is what a sophisticated buyer will ask you. Our post on who does what in a traffic control company covers the roles behind good answers. Traffic OS gives your team dispatch, a GPS time clock, and daily tickets signed on site with the signer's name, time and GPS position that become invoices — the documentation a buyer expects. See the features page or book a demo.

The best traffic control subcontractors answer these questions easily, in writing, and with proof. The ones who cannot are telling you something before the first cone goes down.