How To Get A State Job As A Traffic Counter Technician
In order for highway planners to determine when to widen a road or upgrade it they must have current data on the number of cars traveling that road. This is where the job of traffic counter technician comes in. This state job can pay a good salary with good benefits. In some states this job will be done by local Department Of Transportation workers in the areas where the traffic counts are needed. The may work on salary and use a state vehicle to drive out to the areas where the counters are placed. The traffic counter devices consist of a locked metal box containing a counter mechanism and connected to a rubber hose that is nailed down across the roadway by a traffic counter technician. Each time a vehicle hits the tube a count is made. Planners can estimate the number of vehicles from these counts.
Each State’s Traffic Counter Program Is Different.
In other states, such as Texas, the Department of Transportation will hire independent contractor who use their own vehicles and who are paid for each traffic counter setup that is placed in the proper location. A typical day for a state traffic counter technician might involve setting out fifty traffic counters and rubber hoses in a geographic area within a hundred miles of driving.
What to Expect and Where To Look For State Traffic Counter Technician Jobs
Because traffic counts are needed in all parts of a state the work may be on lonely roads or in a crowded city. It can be dangerous work but it can be rewarding in that you work mostly unsupervised and are always traveling to new places. For those that enjoy constant travel it can be a unique job that pays fairly well.
To inquire about these jobs contact your state’s department of transportation and ask how it does traffic counts. If they use contractors ask for the name of the companies that they are currently employing and give those companies a call. You will be required to have a clean driving record and keep that record free of tickets. In most states traffic counter technicians working for the state may not have any DUI’s on record and no more that three speeding tickets within a year.
In addition you will be screened for drug use for all state jobs. Most states only test after employment if there has been an accident, however you risk losing your job if you use any illegal drugs.
Expect to spend at least three fourths of your time away from home, depending on the size of your state. State jobs offer paid holidays but because of the nature of traffic counter jobs you may be required to work on those holidays and take "comp time" off later.
