Toll Facility Safety Study Report to Congress - About

Toll Facility Safety Study Report to Congress
Denver E-470 (Colorado).
Illinois Tollway.
Two team members attended each site visit, and each visit occurred over a 1-to-2 day period
depending on the number and diversity of the facilities that the agency operates. During the
visits the study team emphasized the need to meet with a variety of agency staff involved in
different aspects of the toll operation, including those involved with enforcement, training, toll
facility management, toll collection, safety, operations, and design. During each of the site visits
the team interviewed a wide range of staff including the following:
Representatives who deal with enforcement issues at one or more plazas (speeding,
violations, etc.).
Staff responsible for facility management or facility operations.
Toll collectors (both union and non-union where applicable).
Those who directly supervise toll collectors.
Maintenance staff who perform work in the immediate vicinity of the plaza (including
electrical work, construction, and other repairs).
Those responsible for training toll collectors and/or maintenance staff.
Those involved with plaza design.
Those responsible for safety programs at the agency (where applicable).
The detailed findings of the site visits can be found in Appendix D.
2.5 Agency Interviews
The team also conducted phone interviews with agencies to obtain additional information on
safety strategies being used across the country to improve worker and traffic safety. The team
had the following three goals in mind when conducting these interviews: (1) to obtain
information about specific safety strategies to assist in preparing the Report to Congress; (2) to
obtain information about innovative safety strategies from toll agencies that did not respond to
the survey; and (3) to obtain more detailed information about innovative safety strategies
reported on surveys returned from toll agencies.
In contacting agencies to request focused interviews, the team contacted the same IBTTA points
of contact who had received the original survey. The seven toll agencies that participated in site
visits were excluded from the interview process since the team had already gathered in-depth
information about their safety strategies. A total of 40 toll agencies were contacted by study
team members via e-mail requesting phone interviews. Twenty-one agencies responded to the
e-mail and agreed to grant interviews. Of the 21 interviews that were conducted, 5 of these were
agencies who had not previously responded to the survey.
In most cases interviews were conducted with someone from the agency’s Operations section.
Phone calls typically lasted 30 to 45 minutes and team members found interview participants to
be extremely willing to share detailed information about the strategies they had implemented to
increase safety at their toll plazas. Many toll agencies submitted exhibits, such as pictures,
Study Methodology Page 7