Understanding Work-Zone Flagger Signals and Signs

Flaggers have a very important job: to keep you and those around you safe. On-site flaggers are there to guide traffic safely through a work area to avoid delays for motorists, protect the safety of their fellow workers on site, and to answer any questions you may have. It’s important to be familiar with the different road signs and hand signals of flaggers; knowing such signs will help you stay alert in work zones, as well as keep others around you safe — including flaggers.

Before you approach a flagger and work zone, you will encounter some warning signs, such as these:

Orange signs alert you of a construction zone so that you can prepare to modify your driving ahead of time. You should slow down and be alert to any flaggers in the area, ready to take their direction.

To communicate effectively with drivers and motorists, flaggers use a number of hand signals and some basic flagging equipment to ensure a smooth flow of traffic.

When approaching a flagger, you may encounter the following hand signals:

When a flagger’s paddle says “STOP,” slow down to a stop until further instruction from the flagger. In a construction zone that has only one lane to use, flaggers will allow one lane of traffic to flow at a time. Stopping when the flagger signals you to do so is for your safety, as well as the safety of on-coming traffic and the workers in the area.

When it is okay and safe to proceed, the flagger will flip their paddle around to “SLOW.” A wave of the arm indicates that it is safe for you to proceed at a slow pace.

If the traffic controller does not alert you to stop once you approach a work zone, they will indicate you to slow down with the paddle turned to “SLOW,” and with an up and down hand gesture signaling for you to drive at a slow speed while driving through the work zone.

Staying alert and listening to the flagger in the area is important. It is as much your job as the flagger’s job to keep everyone in the area safe and out of harm’s way. In doing so, everyone’s wellbeing will be accounted for. And remember, those flaggers are there to keep you safe, as well as allow construction workers to make roads safer for you and everyone else on the road. Construction sites may cause a small delay every once in a while, but the work done saves you time and keeps you safe in the long run.