AI Automation Index

Will AI Replace Traffic Technicians?

Task-level automation exposure for Traffic Technicians: 22 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.

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Developed & audited by Gini Loh

Automation Exposure

60% weighted task index

22 of 22 tasks scored

Median Salary

$59,090 / year

BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation

Employment Level

Low

7,860 people hold this job — size, not growth

Projected 2025–35

+4.0% employment change

900 openings a year · BLS line item

Pay by state

BLS OEWS publishes 36 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.

$37,890 – $79,110

Highest medians

California $79,110

Minnesota $77,810

Washington $71,960

New York $71,670

Indiana $71,000

Lowest medians

Michigan $37,890

Louisiana $42,710

Tennessee $44,970

Kansas $47,100

Georgia $48,110

State figures come from the 53-6041 row in the May 2025 state panel. States where the estimate was suppressed or too small to publish are absent.

What the score is made of

Each task is mapped to its work activities, scored for AI automation potential, and weighted by how important those activities are to the job. These are the components.

Automation potential 60%

Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.

Physical work 11%

Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.

Judgment & influence 59%

Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.

Routine administration 10%

Share in documenting, recording, and administrative activities.

Rewritten by O*NET 0%

Share of weighted tasks O*NET rewrote in a recent update. Reported, not folded into the score.

Consequence of error 28/100 Moderate

O*NET's own rating of how serious an uncorrectable mistake would be here — respondents, not us. Deliberately not in the index: the score measures what AI can do with the task content, and multiplying it by stakes would be our judgment dressed as data.

Constituent Task Mix

22 tasks for this occupation, weighted by work-activity importance. Shares below are of total task weight, not task count.

High exposure (≥ 60% of the task is automatable) 64%

13 tasks

Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 15%

3 tasks

Low exposure (below 35%) 21%

6 tasks

How would you survive?

Move your week away from the high-exposure tasks and toward the ones that need judgment. The simulator recalculates the index as you shift the mix.

Simulate Upskilling →

Constituent Tasks

#8635 · Core · 78% automatable

Study factors affecting traffic conditions, such as lighting or sign and marking visibility, to assess their effectiveness.

data analysis — Traffic data analysis is computational and well-specified

Analyze traffic data.

#8630 · Core · 55% automatable

Interact with the public to answer traffic-related questions, respond to complaints or requests, or discuss traffic control ordinances, plans, policies, or procedures.

information retrieval — Transport info lookup automatable; live assistance human

Provide transportation information to passengers or customers.

#8634 · Core · 65% automatable

Prepare work orders for repair, maintenance, or changes in traffic systems.

data analysis — AI schedules maintenance; human coordinates execution

Arrange maintenance activities.

#8632 · Core · 72% automatable

Plan, design, and improve components of traffic control systems to accommodate current or projected traffic and to increase usability and efficiency.

data analysis — AI analyzes operations to flag efficiency gains

Identify opportunities to improve operational efficiency.

#8633 · Core · 78% automatable

Analyze data related to traffic flow, accident rates, or proposed development to determine the most efficient methods to expedite traffic flow.

data analysis — Traffic data analysis is computational and well-specified

Analyze traffic data.

#8636 · Core · 78% automatable

Visit development or work sites to determine projects' effect on traffic and the adequacy of traffic control and safety plans or to suggest traffic control measures.

data analysis — Traffic data analysis is computational and well-specified

Analyze traffic data.

#8638 · Core · 80% automatable

Operate counters and record data to assess the volume, type, and movement of vehicular or pedestrian traffic at specified times.

text generation — Record travel operational details from provided info

Analyze traffic data. Record operational details of travel.

#8642 · Core · 55% automatable

Measure and record the speed of vehicular traffic, using electrical timing devices or radar equipment.

text generation — Record travel operational details from provided info

Time vehicle speed or traffic-control equipment operation. Record operational details of travel.

#8640 · Core · 85% automatable

Gather and compile data from hand count sheets, machine count tapes, or radar speed checks and code data for computer input.

data analysis — Compiling operational data from sources is automatable

Compile operational data.

#8643 · Core · 78% automatable

Study traffic delays by noting times of delays, the numbers of vehicles affected, and vehicle speed through the delay area.

data analysis — Traffic data analysis is computational and well-specified

Analyze traffic data.

#8645 · Core · 70% automatable

Prepare graphs, charts, diagrams, or other aids to illustrate observations or conclusions.

text generation — Data/product visuals generated; human selects and verifies

Create images of data, locations, or products.

#8631 · Supplemental · 62% automatable

Prepare drawings of proposed signal installations or other control devices, using drafting instruments or computer-automated drafting equipment.

visual inspection — Generates diagrams; technical accuracy and standards human

Prepare drawings or diagrams of products or services.

#8637 · Supplemental · 8% automatable

Lay out pavement markings for striping crews.

physical manipulation — Drawing guide lines on materials is hands-on

Draw guide lines or markings on materials or workpieces using patterns or other references.

#20938 · Supplemental · 55% automatable

Provide traffic information, such as road conditions, to the public.

information retrieval — Public info provision partly automatable; accountability human

Provide information to the general public.

#8649 · Supplemental · 17% automatable

Maintain or make minor adjustments or field repairs to equipment used in surveys, including the replacement of parts on traffic data gathering devices.

physical manipulation — Hands-on electronic equipment repair

Adjust equipment to ensure optimal performance. Repair electronic equipment.

#8641 · Supplemental · 8% automatable

Place and secure automatic counters, using power tools, and retrieve counters after counting periods end.

physical manipulation — Meter installation is hands-on field work

Install metering equipment.

#8644 · Supplemental · 80% automatable

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.

information retrieval — Parse work orders into procedures reliably

Review work orders or schedules to determine operations or procedures.

#8646 · Supplemental · 60% automatable

Establish procedures for street closures or for repair or construction projects.

decision support — Operational planning drafted; execution accountability human

Plan work operations.

#8647 · Supplemental · 78% automatable

Compute time settings for traffic signals or speed restrictions, using standard formulas.

data analysis — Traffic data analysis is computational and well-specified

Analyze traffic data.

#8639 · Supplemental · 30% automatable

Provide technical supervision regarding traffic control devices to other traffic technicians or laborers.

interpersonal — Supervising engineers needs accountability and motivation

Supervise engineering or other technical personnel.

#8648 · Supplemental · 30% automatable

Monitor street or utility projects for compliance to traffic control permit conditions.

situated mobility — Hazard detection in surroundings needs embodied sensing

Monitor surroundings to detect potential hazards.

#8650 · Supplemental · 28% automatable

Time stoplights or other delays, using stopwatches.

visual inspection — Timing vehicle speed requires physical measurement in the field

Time vehicle speed or traffic-control equipment operation.

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Community Sentiment

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Method

How this was scored

1. Tasks. O*NET task statements for this occupation, from a release whose newest record is dated 08/2026.
2. Work activities. Each task maps to 1–5 Detailed Work Activities; each activity belongs to one of 41 Generalized Work Activities that O*NET rates for importance (1–5) in this occupation.
3. Automation potential. Every work activity carries one score for how far current AI can perform it end-to-end. Tasks inherit the mean of their activities.
4. Weighting. Task weight = 0.35 + 0.65 × (importance − 1)/4, scaled by how often the task is performed and by 0.7 for Supplemental tasks. Importance is the task's own O*NET rating where it exists (18,369 of 18,838 tasks); the rest inherit their work activities' importance. The index is the weighted mean.

Check: across the 910 occupations where O*NET also rates how far machine speed sets the pace, this index moves opposite to it (Spearman ρ = -0.49). The more a job is paced by equipment, the less of its task content AI can address — the relationship you would expect if the scoring is working.

Sources · O*NET 31.0 (task records to 08/2026) · BLS OEWS May 2025 · BLS projections 2025-2035 · rubric v2.1 · tasks for O*NET, not a forecast

See the full method →

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