Prevention of Highway Construction Worker Deaths

A large number of construction workers are killed every year while they are working construction in high traffic areas or fixing roads. Exponentially more workers are injured while doing the same work. These risks can be mitigated through awareness efforts by both employers and especially motorists.
More than 100 construction workers are killed every year in accidents that occur when they are working on fixing or maintaining roads. About 20,000 workers are reported injured in such accidents every year. Those risks can be minimized through a combination of efforts by both employers as well as motorists.

For instance, Pennsylvania state transportation agencies that are involved in construction, maintenance and repair of roads, must ensure that highway work zones include sufficient warning signs and safety devices. Placing a couple of orange cones at the beginning of a zone is not enough to protect workers. Concrete barriers must be placed in order to prevent workers from coming int
o contact with speeding vehicles.

It's also important to make sure that traffic flow is smooth as cars travel into the work zone. Speeding through a work zone must be prevented by making sure that speed limits are posted at the entrance to a zone, and that these are clearly visible to all drivers. Pedestrian traffic in a work zone must be eliminated, and cars must not be allowed to back out of the zone. Highway workers must be given very colorful, high visibility vests that can make them visible to drivers.

Motorists, who are driving through a construction work zone, must drop their speeds as they enter the zone, and must maintain those low speeds even as they drive through the zone. Switch off all distractions, including your cell phone and radio in order to focus on the crucial task of traveling through the zone without any injury to yourself or to the workers who are inside the zone. Look out for construction equipment, and debris in the zone. Look out carefully for pedestrian workers.

Construction highway workers do yeoman service to the community by making our roads and highways safer for all drivers. They need to know that they can be safe while doing so.