Basic Safety Tips

Groups

• One person should be designated crew leader to ensure safety rules are followed by everyone. This person must also complete 1 safety meeting per year with Denton County.
• Be alert and use common sense at all times! Some road traffic travels at high speeds, and most drivers don’t expect to see crews working along the roadsides. There should not be any horseplay, practical jokes, or endangering of your own or another’s personal safety.
• Crew members should be in good health with good sight and hearing. Avoid the use of walkmans, iPods and/or cd players that could interfere with the ability to hear oncoming traffic, safety warnings or other potential hazards.
• Crew members under 15 years of age must have adult supervision at a ratio of one adult for every three children.
• Keep crews together for better visibility to motorists. Post a person to look out for traffic dangers. It’s best to work in groups of 3 to 4 people.
• Group sizes should not exceed 25 participants because this could distract the driving public.
• Carpool to the site to reduce the number of vehicles on the roadside.

Parking

• Do not use crossovers in the median to turn your vehicle around; instead, use the next exit ramp.
• All vehicles should be parked well off the right shoulder. Do not park on paved shoulders.
• Parking is not allowed along curves, on bridges, near or under overpasses, or in highway medians.
• Work only one side of the road at a time. Keep vehicles on the same side of the road as crew members. Do not wander onto private property.
• All occupants in vehicles should exit and enter the vehicle on the side opposite traffic.

Safety

• Never walk out on the road.
• Don’t enter the roadway or the shoulder areas to pick up trash.
• Don’t pick up litter on the medians of the limited access roads, on bridges, in tunnels or on overpasses. These areas are especially dangerous to workers on foot.
• Never go into the water or pipes to pick up trash.
• Avoid areas which are being mowed or where other construction or maintenance activities are being conducted. Also avoid contact with areas where herbicides have been applied.
• Watch your footing. Stay off loose stones and steep slopes.
• Face oncoming traffic as you work whenever possible. Be prepared to move out of the way of vehicles in an emergency.
• Knives, machetes, axes, etc. should not be carried by crew members.
• Don’t overfill or compact trash bags because of the danger of injuries from broken or jagged objects. Fill bags with what goes in easily, and then start with a new bag.
• Always bring a stick or rod with you to roll an object over before picking it up. Snakes and scorpions make homes under cardboard boxes and other items found on the roadside.
• Never lift anything that is too heavy for you - get help with the big things. When lifting a heavy load, lift with your legs, not your back.
• Work during daylight hours. Stop working in bad weather, especially when there is poor visibility and wet or icy roads, during electrical storms, and during other than daylight conditions.
• Avoid overexertion. Drink lots of water, especially on hot, humid days
• Avoid contact with poison ivy and oak as well as dead animals.
• Don’t pick up discarded syringes or hypodermic needles, or broken glass.
• Don’t try to remove unknown or suspected hazardous materials/toxic substances. Such as containers with placards or hazardous symbols, containers with hoses duct taped to spouts, empty starter fluid cans, propane tanks with discolored valves, coffee filters, or bags containing a grayish/white substance. This also includes urine bottles. Notify the department of Transportation or the police of the location of these items immediately. Notify the Sheriff’s Office or Fire Marshal’s Office - Environmental Crimes Division 940-349-1600 or 940-349-2840.
• Criminal Evidence: Large Debris piles that have been illegally dumped my contain evidence that could be useful to law enforcement. If mail or similar products with names and addresses, or illegal materials are observed please notify the County Fire Marshal’s Office - Environmental Crimes Division.
• Carefully Handle Bottles and similar containers. They may contain human waste.
• Never pick up any item that has potentially infectious waste on it - blood or other bodily fluids.
• Never pick up an old cardboard box with your bare hands. This could be a snake’s home or another creature’s home.
• In case of emergency - Be prepared for serious injury. Every crew should have an adequate first aid kit. Select an emergency room/hospital and know the route to it from the work area. Every crew member should have transportation immediately accessible. Use a vehicle with a cellular phone or CB radio if available. Know your location and do not hesitate to dial 911.

Dress Code

• All workers must wear orange vests while working on the roadside. Other clothing should be light colored for increased visibility.
• Wear substantial leather shoes or boots with good ankle support. Never wear sandals or open toe shoes.
• Wear a hat and long sleeves to avoid sunburn. You may want to use a sunscreen lotion on sunny days. Early morning hours work best before the sun is too hot. Make sure you wear heavy gloves, to protect your hands.

Phone Numbers

EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS

• All Emergencies Phone: 911 
  • Provide: Name,  Location, Type of Emergency
• Fire Marshal / Environmental Crimes / HazMat Phone: 940-349-2840 or 1600
• National Poison Control Center Phone: 800-222-1222
• Sheriff’s Office Non-Emergency Dispatch Phone: 940-349-1600

NON-EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS

• Commissioner Bobbie Mitchell Precinct 3 Phone: 972-434-4780
• Commissioner Dianne Edmondson Precinct 4 Phone: 972-434-3960
• Commissioner Hugh Coleman Precinct 1 Phone: 940-349-2810
• Commissioner Ron Marchant Precinct 2 Phone: 972-434-7140
• Denton County Health / Denton Office Phone: 940-349-2900
• Road and Bridge East Precincts 1 and 2 Phone: 940-349-3420
• Road and Bridge West Precincts 3 and 4 Phone: 940-349-3430