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Flagging

5 articles on flagging.

Traffic control plans

Emergency Vehicle Access Through Work Zones: What the Plan and the Crew Need to Cover

A lane closure or road closure changes how fire, ambulance and police reach a call. What the MUTCD says about coordinating with emergency services, what a traffic control plan should address, and how crews and flaggers should respond when an emergency vehicle arrives.

Oct 2, 2026 · 8 min read

Running the business

How to Start a Traffic Control Company: What the First Two Years Actually Require

A plain-language walk through starting a traffic control or flagging company: the work you can realistically win first, the training, insurance and equipment it takes, how the money moves, and the systems to put in place before you have ten people in the field.

Oct 2, 2026 · 15 min read

Compliance and work-zone safety

Flagger Hand-Signaling Procedures Explained: Paddle, Flag and the Single-Flagger Rule

How the MUTCD expects a flagger to stop, release and slow traffic, when a red flag is acceptable, when one flagger can run a one-lane two-way closure instead of two, and what a traffic control company should build around those rules.

Sep 17, 2026 · 14 min read

Equipment and yards

Portable Traffic Signals in Work Zones: When They Beat Flaggers

Temporary portable signals can control one-lane two-way operations without putting a person in the road. Where they fit, what they cost to run properly, and the failure modes that catch companies deploying them for the first time.

Aug 8, 2026 · 5 min read

Compliance and work-zone safety

Automated Flagger Assistance Devices (AFADs), Explained

What AFADs are, the two types the MUTCD recognises, the two deployment methods and when one flagger can run both ends, where AFADs are and are not allowed, and how to think about the labor and equipment economics honestly.

Jul 26, 2026 · 11 min read