How do you write a traffic management plan for a small site?

Last checked 01-11-2026. A plain guide, not legal advice: check the official guidance below for your job.

A traffic management plan sets out how vehicles and people get into, round and out of the site safely: separate routes, as little reversing as possible, controlled deliveries and a safe entrance onto the road. CDM 2015 regulation 27 requires the site to be organised so pedestrians and vehicles can move without risk, and HSE guidance HSG144 explains how.

What it is and what HSE expects

There is no set form. On a small job the traffic management plan is usually a page in the construction phase plan and a marked-up site plan showing the routes. HSE's guide The safe use of vehicles on construction sites (HSG144) says the principal contractor should refer to vehicle safety in the construction phase plan, including traffic and pedestrian routes, vehicle access and site rules, and that the transport information needs updating as routes and site rules change.

HSG144 says most construction transport accidents come from not separating pedestrians and vehicles properly, and that this can usually be avoided by careful planning and by controlling vehicle operations. Its overall message: separate people and vehicles, and keep traffic routes free of hazards.

HSG144 was last revised in 2009 and refers to CDM 2007. The same duties are now in CDM 2015, mainly regulations 27 and 28. On a job with one contractor, that contractor plans the construction phase and writes the plan.

What the law says

CDM 2015 applies to every construction site, domestic jobs included. For vehicles and traffic:

The site must be organised so that, so far as is reasonably practicable, pedestrians and vehicles can move without risks to health or safety (regulation 27(1)).
Traffic routes must be suitable for the people or vehicles using them, sufficient in number, in suitable positions and big enough (regulation 27(2)).
There must be enough separation between vehicles and pedestrians. Where that is not reasonably practicable, there must be other ways of protecting pedestrians and an effective way of warning anyone who could be crushed or trapped by a vehicle (regulation 27(3)).
A pedestrian gate onto a traffic route must be far enough from it that people can see approaching vehicles from a safe place. A loading bay needs at least one exit for pedestrians only. If a vehicle gate is unsafe for people on foot, there must be a clearly marked pedestrian door right next to it, kept clear (regulation 27(3)).
Routes must be signed where needed, regularly checked, properly maintained, and free of obstruction with enough clearance before vehicles use them (regulation 27(4) and (5)).
Steps must be taken to stop vehicles moving unintentionally. Anyone at risk from a moving vehicle must be warned, by the driver, by the person directing them, or both (regulation 28).
Nobody may ride on a vehicle except in a safe place provided for it, or stay on a vehicle while loose material is loaded or unloaded unless a safe place of work is provided. Vehicles must be stopped from falling into excavations or water or running over edges (regulation 28).
The site, its approach and its traffic routes must have suitable lighting (regulation 35).

Separate people and vehicles

HSE suggests these ways to keep pedestrians and vehicles apart:

separate entrances and exits for pedestrians and vehicles
firm, level, well-drained walkways that take a direct route where possible
clearly signed and lit crossing points where walkways cross vehicle routes, where drivers and pedestrians can see each other
walkways kept clear, so nobody has to step into the vehicle route
a barrier between the roadway and the walkway
parking for workers and visitors away from the work area, and storage placed so delivery vehicles do not have to cross the site

HSG144 says chestnut paling, metal barriers or plastic fencing will do for walkways a safe distance from vehicle routes. Where vehicles are there only for short periods and the risk is low, cones and tape can mark the area people must keep out of. Where physical separation is not reasonably practicable, for example during an infrequent, short, low-risk unload, use a signaller and a safe system of work: driver and signaller in contact at all times, both understanding the signals and site rules, the signaller controlling the vehicle and warning pedestrians, and the signaller standing in a safe place.

Routes, one-way systems and reversing

HSE says reversing should be avoided where possible, because it is a major cause of fatal accidents. HSG144 sets out a hierarchy:

Remove the need to reverse: one-way systems round the site and through loading areas, and turning areas.
Reduce reversing: fewer vehicle movements, and drivers told not to reverse unless they must.
Keep people out of reversing areas: enough room to manoeuvre, pedestrians excluded, clear signs and physical stops at the limit.
Safe systems of work: mirrors, CCTV or proximity sensors for blind spots, site rules everyone understands, and driver and signaller in constant contact. Signallers must not be put at risk, for example by standing directly behind a reversing vehicle.
Warnings: reversing lights and alarms in working order. HSG144 says warning systems give the lowest level of protection and, used on their own, suit only low-risk situations.

Signallers, often called banksmen, must be trained and authorised. HSG144 says they should be easy to pick out on site, for example by a clearly labelled high-visibility jacket, and should stop the vehicle if they and the driver cannot see each other. Drivers should stop if they lose sight of the signaller.

Set speed limits that suit each route. HSE says one limit for the whole site is common but not usually effective, that limits set by guessing are hard to enforce, and that a limit set unreasonably low tempts drivers to ignore it. Fixed features such as narrowed routes control speed better than signs alone.

Deliveries, loading and unloading

Plan the work to keep vehicle movements down and avoid unnecessary deliveries and double handling. HSG144 suggests giving suppliers site-specific delivery instructions when you order.
Book delivery times so lorries do not queue on the road. Near schools, hospitals or busy shopping areas, HSG144 says deliveries can be restricted to set times.
Where there is room, a holding area by the entrance lets a lorry wait, or be turned away, without blocking the road.
Load and unload on level ground, away from passing traffic, pedestrians and overhead hazards such as power lines. HSE says anyone not involved in loading or unloading should be kept away from the loading area.
Refuse uneven loads or loads that have moved significantly on the way, as HSG144 advises.
Lorry loaders should work on firm, level ground with the stabilisers fully out and the parking brake on. A lift with a loader crane is a lifting operation, so plan it and keep people out from under the load.
Skip exchanges and other demountable containers need plenty of room round and above the vehicle. HSE warns that the container often blocks the driver's view behind.

The site entrance and the public road

The entrance is where site traffic meets the public, and it needs the most thought.

Make sure drivers pulling out can see both ways along the footway before they move onto it (HSE).
Where vehicles cross the public footway, protect pedestrians and control their movement, for example with barriers and a signaller (HSG144).
Do not let deliveries block the pavement. HSE warns this can force pedestrians into the road.
Drivers working in public areas should always take the keys out when they park and leave a vehicle (HSG144).
Keep mud off the road. On muddy sites HSG144 suggests vehicle wash-down facilities and road sweepers, to keep site routes and the public highway safe. Depositing anything on a highway that injures or endangers a road user can be an offence (Highways Act 1980, section 161).
If vehicles will habitually cross a kerbed footway or verge where there is no made-up crossing, talk to the highway authority. Section 184 of the Act lets it serve notice that it will build a crossing, or set conditions on using the footway as one.

When the council or highway authority is involved

Traffic management inside your own boundary needs nobody's permission. These are the cases where it does, in England and Wales:

Planning conditions. A council can attach conditions to a planning permission, and some have to be dealt with before work starts. If your decision notice has a condition about construction traffic or a construction management plan, get it approved before you start.
A skip on the road needs a skip licence from the council (Highways Act 1980, section 139).
Scaffolding or hoarding on the highway, which includes the pavement, needs a licence from the highway authority, usually the council (sections 169 and 172, and GOV.UK).
Storing materials or digging in the street needs the highway authority's consent, and the obstruction must be fenced and lit in the dark (section 171).
Closing or restricting a road or footway to traffic or pedestrians needs a temporary order or notice from the traffic authority (Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, section 14). Ask the council early: it decides whether to make one and on what conditions.

In Scotland the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 applies: you need the roads authority's written permission to occupy part of a road for materials or scaffolding (section 58) and for a skip (section 85). Section 14 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 applies in Scotland too. Northern Ireland has its own roads law and its own CDM regulations, so check locally.

HSG144 does not cover construction work on the public highway. For signing, lighting and guarding works in the road itself, see the Department for Transport's code of practice Safety at street works and road works, written for utility companies and highway authorities.

A simple checklist

A site plan with vehicle routes, pedestrian routes, crossing points, gates, parking, loading and storage areas marked
A separate pedestrian gate next to the vehicle gate
A turning area or one-way route so vehicles do not reverse, or a written system for reversing with a trained signaller
Speed limits and signs that suit each route
Delivery booking times, the delivery instructions sent to suppliers, and where lorries wait
A loading area on level ground, away from people and overhead lines
Visibility both ways along the footway at the entrance, and how people on the pavement are protected
Wheel washing or road sweeping arrangements
Licences and permits for anything on the highway, and any planning condition about construction traffic
Lighting for routes used in the dark
Who checks the routes and how often, and how changes are briefed at induction and in toolbox talks

Worked example: Telford Yard

The job is four houses on a former builders' yard, Telford Yard, off a busy B road, with a primary school 200 m away. The only access is one 7 m wide gateway. The foundations are 120 m of strip foundation trench, 0.6 m wide and 1 m deep.

Layout: the builder splits the gateway into a 5 m vehicle gate and a separate pedestrian gate behind a barrier, and puts the welfare unit and worker parking just inside on the pedestrian side, so nobody crosses the vehicle route to reach them. A hardstanding turning area by the compound lets delivery lorries drive in forwards, turn and drive out forwards. Where a tipper has to reverse to a trench, a trained signaller controls it and the walkway beside it is fenced off.

Muck-away: 120 m x 0.6 m x 1 m = 72 m3 of spoil in the ground. Dug spoil bulks up, and how much depends on the soil, so use your groundworker's figure. This example uses 25%: 72 x 1.25 = 90 m3 to move. The haulier says each tipper carries 10 m3 loose, so 90 / 10 = 9 loads. Over three days that is 3 loads a day, or 6 vehicle movements a day through the gate, counting each lorry in and out.

Concrete: the trenches are filled to 0.83 m deep, so 120 x 0.6 x 0.83 = 59.8, call it 60 m3, poured in one day. At 6 m3 a truck (the supplier's figure for this job), that is 60 / 6 = 10 trucks. Booked at 30-minute intervals between 09:30 and 14:30, clear of the school run, the day has 5 hours x 2 = 10 slots. Only one truck is on site at a time and none waits on the road.

Entrance: the gate posts and hoarding are set back so a driver can see both ways along the footway, and a signaller holds pedestrians while lorries cross it. A stone-surfaced entrance and a jet-wash point clean wheels before lorries leave, and a road sweeper is on call. The plan becomes revision B when the scaffold goes up and the turning area gets smaller.