Forty-five Percent of Highway Contractors Had Vehicles Crash into Their Construction Work Zones During the Past Year
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Forty-five percent of highway contractors had motor vehicles crash into their construction work zones during the past year, according to the results of a new highway work zone study conducted by AGC of America. Association officials added that the study found work zone crashes are more likely to kill vehicle operators and passengers than construction workers. "There is little margin for error when you work within a few inches of thousands of fast-moving vehicles," said Tom Case, the chair of the association’s national highway and transportation division and senior vice president of Watsonville, Calif.-based Granite Construction. "As the data makes clear, not enough drivers are slowing down and staying alert near work sites." Case said that 43 percent of contractors reported that motor vehicle operators or passengers were injured during work zone crashes this past year, and 16 percent were killed in those crashes. While they are less likely to kill construction workers, highway work zone crashes do pose a significant risk for people in hard hats, Case added. He noted that more than 20 percent of work zone crashes injure construction workers, and 6 percent of those crashes kill them. Read the full press release here.
   
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