We had a close call Friday on I-44 near Rolla; under 49 CFR 392.14, work zones mean slow down, open up your following distance, and use flashers when speed drops to prevent rear-end hits. I’ve put our one-page work-zone checklist in a cab-friendly format (gap targets, merge timing, cone taper cues); if you want the PDF or a visor card version, comment and I’ll share.
Ran I-44 by Rolla last summer and started ‘counting cones’ to time the taper; at roughly 40 ft spacing, 10 cones is about 400 ft, so I pick a gap two cones before it and keep rolling instead of stopping. I ‘use flashers when speed drops’ like you said, but I knock them off once I’m steady so they don’t hide a lane-change signal.
Quick example: at night through a cone taper I pace my merge by counting dashed lane lines (the 10-ft paint/30-ft gap pattern) to hold a 6–7 second cushion, then I hit the “use flashers when speed drops” cue right as I dip under 45 so the tail picks it up sooner. Only caveat: in heavy rain I stretch it to 8–9 seconds because spray hides brake lights; if you’ve got that visor card version, I’ll take it.
One thing that helps me: I drop cruise and pre-select a gear about a mile out, then aim for your “gap targets” so I’m rolling, not braking, through the cone taper. If it’s wet I double that gap and use the hood mirror to keep the trailer off the barrels — , those late lane-shift signs. I’d love the visor card PDF.
, one thing that saves me is bumping my adaptive cruise to max following distance about a mile before the barrels and aiming for your “gap targets” so I’m not jockeying at the last second. @grayson_riley42, if traffic’s choppy I’ll kill ACC with the thumb switch because it sometimes chases a car diving to an exit, then re-engage once it stabilizes. If you’ve got that one-pager as a cab-sized PDF, I’ll take it.