Seven Statistics on Highway Work Zones

There are warning signs everywhere, but highway work zones are still dangerous places, especially for motorists. Here are seven statistics relating to these busy road construction and maintenance areas.

Here are seven statistics relating to highway work zone fatalities in the US and Canada:

1. The three states with the most vehicle crash fatalities in highway work zones are Texas, California and Florida. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
2. Four things that can keep drivers, passengers and highway work zone workers safe are planning ahead and allowing extra time to reach your driving destination, staying alert in highway work zones, minimizing distractions and reducing your speed in accordance with signs in highway work zones. (American Automobile Association)
3. Eight percent of all US occupational construction deaths occurring between 2003 and 2007 involved road construction/maintenance workers. (BLS)
4. Backing dump trucks account for 60 percent of worker deaths associated with workers being struck by reversing equipment or vehicles. (BLS)
5. The majority (66 percent) of highway work zone crashes occurring in Canada over a five-year period happened in clear weather conditions, mostly during daylight hours. (Transport Canada)
6. Nearly 85 percent of the people killed in highway work zone crashes are motorists and their passengers. (National Motorists’ Association)
7. Most crashes in highway work zones do not result in fatalities. In 2010 across the US, 0.6 percent of highway work zone crashes were deadly, 30 percent caused injuries and 69 percent involved property damage only. (US Department of Transportation)

All the signs are there, literally, in highway work zones—signs telling drivers to slow down and be alert for workers and equipment and the “slow” and “stop” signs held by flaggers. Yet motorists, their passengers and road construction and maintenance workers continue to die or suffer injuries in these busy areas.