Traffic Control Procedures & Signals

The Scope of a Guard's Traffic Authority

The single most important rule in this section: a security guard has authority to direct traffic only on private property. A guard can manage vehicles in a parking lot, at a site entrance, or on private internal roads. A guard cannot stop, slow, or direct vehicles on a public roadway.

Public-road traffic control is the authority of police officers and authorized traffic-control personnel (flag persons working under a traffic-control plan approved by the road authority). If a site's traffic plan requires stopping public traffic — for example, to let trucks turn out of a site onto a busy street — the site must arrange police or certified traffic control, not just post a guard at the curb.

Hand Signals

Hand signals are the universal language of traffic direction. They must be deliberate, exaggerated, and held long enough for drivers to read at distance.

graph LR
    STOP["STOP<br/>Right arm extended, palm flat, fingers up"] --> SLOW["SLOW<br/>Arm down at angle, patting motion"]
    SLOW --> GO["GO<br/>Sweep arm toward direction of travel"]
    GO --> TURN["TURN<br/>Point index finger in turn direction"]
    TURN --> STOP

Whistle Use

The whistle supplements hand signals — it gets attention, it does not replace the hand signal. Standard whistle codes:

• One short blast — get the driver's attention ("look at me")
• One long blast — STOP
• Two short blasts — GO / proceed
• Repeated short blasts — emergency stop / hazard

Never whistle near a driver's ear or use the whistle to intimidate. It is a communication tool, not a weapon.

Positioning and Safety

Where you stand is as important as what you signal. A driver who cannot see you cannot obey you.

• Be visible — wear a high-visibility (hi-vis) vest at all times; it is mandatory, not optional
• Stand where drivers expect to see a controller — typically at the driver's left-front or right-front, never behind a vehicle
• Use a safe stance — feet shoulder-width apart, balanced, ready to move
• Keep an escape route — never stand in the path of a moving vehicle with no way out; always have a clear space to step to
• Never stand between two moving vehicles — if a line of cars is moving, control it from the side, not from inside the column
• Make eye contact with the driver before signalling them to move; confirm they see you

Portable Stop/Slow Paddles

A portable stop/slow paddle is a double-sided sign — STOP on one face, SLOW on the other — mounted on a handle. Paddles are more visible than hand signals at distance and in poor light, and they reduce ambiguity because the message is printed, not gestured.

Use the paddle when:

• Drivers are more than ~30 metres away and hand signals may be hard to read
• Conditions are low light, rain, or fog
• You are managing intermittent two-way flow on a single lane (flip STOP/SLOW to alternate directions)
• Truck drivers in high cabs need a clear, elevated signal

Hold the paddle high and steady with the correct face toward oncoming traffic. Do not wave it — a moving sign is harder to read than a still one.

Coordinating with Public-Road Traffic

When your site's traffic interacts with a public road, your authority ends at the property line. Common scenarios:

• Trucks turning out of a site onto a public road — the truck driver must yield to public traffic; you may signal the truck when it is safe to begin the turn, but you may not stop public traffic to clear the truck's path. If public traffic must be held, arrange police or certified traffic control.
• A special event that affects a public road — permits and police/traffic-control coordination are required in advance; guards direct traffic only on the event site, not on the closed public road unless separately authorized as traffic-control personnel under the approved plan.
• An emergency creating a hazard on the public road — call police and, if safe, warn approaching drivers; do not attempt to take over direction of the roadway.

Documentation

Log every traffic-control assignment: location, time, weather, volume, any incidents or near-misses, and any interaction with public-road traffic or police. If a driver refuses to obey a signal on private property, record the plate, vehicle description, and direction of travel — do not pursue onto a public road.