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Traffic Technicians

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Conduct field studies to determine traffic volume, speed, effectiveness of signals, adequacy of lighting, and other factors influencing traffic conditions, under direction of traffic engineer.

Related: Air Traffic Controllers Civil Engineering Technologists & Technicians Construction & Building Inspectors Power Distributors & Dispatchers Railroad Conductors & Yardmasters

Industries: Government

Summary
Details

Measure and record the speed of vehicular traffic, using electrical timing devices or radar equipment.
Provide technical supervision regarding traffic control devices to other traffic technicians or laborers.
Review traffic control or barricade plans to issue permits for parades or other special events or for construction work that affects rights of way, providing assistance with plan preparation or revision, as necessary.
Develop plans or long-range strategies for providing adequate parking space.
Study factors affecting traffic conditions, such as lighting or sign and marking visibility, to assess their effectiveness.
Place and secure automatic counters, using power tools, and retrieve counters after counting periods end.
Monitor street or utility projects for compliance to traffic control permit conditions.
Measure and record the speed of vehicular traffic, using electrical timing devices or radar equipment.
Operate counters and record data to assess the volume, type, and movement of vehicular or pedestrian traffic at specified times.
Establish procedures for street closures or for repair or construction projects.
Study traffic delays by noting times of delays, the numbers of vehicles affected, and vehicle speed through the delay area.
Interact with the public to answer traffic-related questions, respond to complaints or requests, or discuss traffic control ordinances, plans, policies, or procedures.
Lay out pavement markings for striping crews.
Operate counters and record data to assess the volume, type, and movement of vehicular or pedestrian traffic at specified times.
Provide traffic information, such as road conditions, to the public.
Plan, design, and improve components of traffic control systems to accommodate current or projected traffic and to increase usability and efficiency.
Time stoplights or other delays, using stopwatches.
Maintain or make minor adjustments or field repairs to equipment used in surveys, including the replacement of parts on traffic data gathering devices.
Visit development or work sites to determine projects' effect on traffic and the adequacy of traffic control and safety plans or to suggest traffic control measures.
Maintain or make minor adjustments or field repairs to equipment used in surveys, including the replacement of parts on traffic data gathering devices.
Gather and compile data from hand count sheets, machine count tapes, or radar speed checks and code data for computer input.
Analyze data related to traffic flow, accident rates, or proposed development to determine the most efficient methods to expedite traffic flow.
Prepare work orders for repair, maintenance, or changes in traffic systems.
Compute time settings for traffic signals or speed restrictions, using standard formulas.
Prepare graphs, charts, diagrams, or other aids to illustrate observations or conclusions.
Prepare drawings of proposed signal installations or other control devices, using drafting instruments or computer-automated drafting equipment.

Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.

Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.

Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

1 to 12 months on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

79150/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

38.05/hr

Currently Employed

Yearly Projected Openings

Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:

Dependability
Attention to Detail
Integrity
Cooperation
Adaptability/Flexibility
Analytical Thinking

Clock timers
Desktop computers
Digital cameras
Drafting kits or sets
Electronic counters
Floor or platform scales
Notebook computers
Personal computers
Plotter printers
Portable data input terminals
Power saws
Speed sensors
Still cameras
Theodolites
Traffic signals
Two way radios
Variable message sign

Analytical or scientific software
Business intelligence and data analysis software
Computer aided design CAD software
Customer relationship management CRM software
Data base user interface and query software
Electronic mail software
Geographic information system
Industrial control software
Object or component oriented development software
Office suite software
Operating system software
Presentation software
Spreadsheet software
Word processing software

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

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Traffic Technicians

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