Construction group launches new highway work zone safety effort

Forty-four per cent of US highway contractors reported that motor vehicles had crashed into their construction work zones during the past year, according to the results of a new highway work zone study conducted by the Associated General Contractors of America. As a result, association officials have launched a new national advertising and outreach campaign to urge motorists to stay alert and slow down while driving through highway work zones. Stephen E. Sandherr, chief executive officer for the association
May 26, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
Forty-four per cent of US highway contractors reported that motor vehicles had crashed into their construction work zones during the past year, according to the results of a new highway work zone study conducted by the Associated General Contractors of America. As a result, association officials have launched a new national advertising and outreach campaign to urge motorists to stay alert and slow down while driving through highway work zones.


Stephen E. Sandherr, chief executive officer for the association said that 49 per cent of contractors who reported work zone crashes on their projects said that motor vehicle operators or passengers were injured and 13 per cent of those crashes involved a driver or passenger fatality.  Highway work zone crashes also pose a significant risk for construction workers, Sandherr noted.  He said 25 percent of work zone crashes injure construction workers and 11 per cent of those crashes kill them.

Sandherr noted that the campaign will feature new radio ads that will air in dozens of cities around the country that caution drivers to be careful in highway work zones.  The ads warn drivers that speeding, texting and losing focus while in work zones aren’t worth the “nightmare” of killing workers, drivers or passengers.

“There is no meeting, email or text that is more important than the safety of workers or motorists,” said Sandherr. “It is absolutely essential for every driver to slow down, pay attention and put the phone down while driving through highway work zones.”

UTC

Related Content

  • November 21, 2024
    Acusensus cameras find more than 800 drivers using phones in five-week trial
    There were also 2,300 incidents of not wearing a seat belt
    Read More
  • June 3, 2015
    Distraction dominated teen driver accident causes.
    As a new report shows that distracted driving is a bigger cause of accidents than previously thought, Jon Masters asks what should be done to counter this problem. Research carried out by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety has shed new light on the dangers of distraction for teen drivers. Six years of study using video analysis has shown that 58% of all crashes involving teen drivers are caused by the driver being distracted and proved that the influence of external factors is stronger than previously th
    Read More
  • October 17, 2016
    Two seconds – the difference between life and death
    Professor Donald Fisher has spent 15 years identifying factors that increase the crash risk of novice and older drivers. His findings highlight the difference between living and dying, Colin Sowman reports.
    Read More
  • October 12, 2016
    IAM RoadSmart calls for joined up thinking on road safety
    Action is needed from across government departments to reverse the trend of flat-lining road deaths, according to new research from UK road safety charity IAM RoadSmart, which says reducing these deaths would in turn offer a large saving to the public purse. The new report, Evaluating the costs of incidents from the public sector perspective, is the first attempt to update the formula for death and injury cost figures since the 1990s. It is also the first time anyone has highlighted the costs to the publ
    Read More

Highlighted Content