FACTS
- Flaggers are required at locations on a construction site where barricades and warning signs cannot control the moving traffic. Flaggers must be placed in relation to the equipment or operation so they can give effective warning.
- According to the Center for Construction Research and Training, also known as CPWR, flaggers’ safety risks include motorists driving at high speeds and aggressive drivers.
- Safety is the top priority when working at a road construction site. Road work has many potential dangers from collisions with passing traffic to accidents with equipment. Flagging is the second-most dangerous work zone activity, and flaggers can suffer extreme bodily injury when accidents happen on the job.
- A flagger’s job is to direct traffic entering and exiting the work zone. Flaggers are placed in the midst of traffic to make the route through a work zone safer for both highway maintenance workers and passing vehicles.
- The most common work zone injuries are from objects or equipment used at the site. The top three causes of roadside work zone fatalities are from runovers, construction vehicle or equipment collisions, and being struck by equipment.
- A common cause of roadside work zone injuries is falling. Simply tripping on the job could result in greater injury, such as being run over by a vehicle.
- Flaggers should be trained by persons with the qualifications and experience necessary to effectively instruct the employee in the proper fundamentals of flagging and moving traffic. Qualifications for flaggers include the ability to communicate specific instructions, maneuver quickly to avoid danger, control signaling devices to provide clear guidance, understand and apply safe traffic practices, and recognize dangerous situations and warn others.
STATS
- through 2019, 28,636 individuals (about 774 per year) lost their lives in work zone crashes.
- when 1,186 died in construction and maintenance zones – the number of deaths declined steadily to an average of 591, then increased to an average of 782 from 2015-2019.
- In 2016, 532 construction workers lost their lives at road construction sites, an average of 89 workers each year.
- For every 4 billion vehicle-miles travel in the United States, there is a work zone fatality. These incidents account for 10% of roadway congestion and 24% of roadway delays — and hundreds of worker and pedestrian fatalities each year. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) cites transportation incidents as the most frequent type of work-related fatalities. They caused 40% of all reported work fatalities in 2018. That’s the highest number of fatal work incidents in the U.S., making the construction industry — especially those working alongside highways — one of the most dangerous fields in the U.S.