Will AI replace Traffic Technicians?
AI reaches some of this job’s work, but most of it stays with people.
36/100
Moderate exposure
More exposed to AI than 57% of US workers.
- AI already used in
- 0% of the work
- As AI tools mature: up to
- 73% of the work
What the job involves
Conduct field studies to determine traffic volume, speed, effectiveness of signals, adequacy of lighting, and other factors influencing traffic conditions, under direction of traffic engineer.
Where AI reaches the work
The job’s main tasks, heaviest first, by how far AI reaches them.
Within reach(15)
- Interact with the public to answer traffic-related questions, respond to complaints or requests, or discuss traffic control ordinances, plans, policies, or procedures.
- Study factors affecting traffic conditions, such as lighting or sign and marking visibility, to assess their effectiveness.
- Analyze data related to traffic flow, accident rates, or proposed development to determine the most efficient methods to expedite traffic flow.
- Plan, design, and improve components of traffic control systems to accommodate current or projected traffic and to increase usability and efficiency.
- Gather and compile data from hand count sheets, machine count tapes, or radar speed checks and code data for computer input.
and 10 more
Out of reach(7)
- Prepare work orders for repair, maintenance, or changes in traffic systems.
- Measure and record the speed of vehicular traffic, using electrical timing devices or radar equipment.
- Lay out pavement markings for striping crews.
- Review traffic control or barricade plans to issue permits for parades or other special events or for construction work that affects rights of way, providing assistance with plan preparation or revision, as necessary.
- Place and secure automatic counters, using power tools, and retrieve counters after counting periods end.
and 2 more
Also called
Traffic Signal Technician (TST) · Transportation Planning Technician (Transportation Planning Tech) · Transportation Technician (Transportation Tech) · TST · Traffic Specialist · Transportation Analyst · Transportation Planning Tech · Transportation Tech
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What these numbers mean
The score is the share of this job’s work, weighted by how important and frequent each task is, that AI could do in half the time: tasks an AI model could do alone count in full, tasks that need software built on AI count half.
“AI already used” is the share of the work in tasks where people are recorded using AI today. “As AI tools mature” counts every task AI could halve, with or without extra software.
The percentile compares the score with every job’s, weighted by how many people in the US do each one. Exposure means AI could change how the work is done, not that the job goes away. These are estimates for the typical job, not predictions.
Sources
- O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration
- GPTs are GPTs: Labor market impact potential of LLMs (task labels), Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), OpenAI and University of Pennsylvania
- Anthropic Economic Index: labor market impacts (task penetration), Anthropic
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (national and metropolitan areas), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics