For a highway construction worker, focusing on the job is easier when someone is watching your back. On many roads, that person is the flagger, whose stop/slow sign helps maintain a peaceful, safe balance between traffic and work-zone activity.
Unfortunately, not enough motorists watch out for the flaggers; according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 88 flaggers were killed on the job between 2003 and 2009. A concern for safety has given rise to Automated Flagger Assistance Devices (AFADs), remote-controlled traffic control systems that workers can operate away from the road.