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.”

Urban Traffic Control

Related Content

  • ASECAP examines tolling during downturns
    September 22, 2014
    ASECAP debated the impact of the financial crises on Europe’s tolling companies and considered the future in diverse economies. Colin Sowman picks some of the highlights. This year ASECAP (Association Europeenne des Concessionnaires d’Autoroutes et d’Ouvrages a’ Peage, with members in 21 countries managing 46,000km of roadway) held its annual Study & Information Days in Athens, Greece – one of the country hardest hit by recent economic problems. While the theme of the conference, Ensuring Sustainability in
    Read More
  • USDOT to launch nationwide safety assessment of key bike/pedestrian routes
    September 11, 2014
    US transportation secretary Anthony Foxx has announced a new initiative to reduce the growing number of pedestrian and bicyclist injuries and fatalities through a comprehensive approach that addresses infrastructure safety, education, vehicle safety and data collection. Injuries and fatalities of pedestrian and people bicycling have steadily increased since 2009, at a rate higher than motor vehicle fatalities. From 2011 to 2012, pedestrian deaths rose six per cent and bicyclist fatalities went up almost s
    Read More
  • CCTV brings transit safety into view
    September 15, 2014
    David Crawford looks at camera-based vulnerable road users protection systems.Safe and efficient operation of road-based transit depends on minimising the risks of incidents involving other vehicles or vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, cyclists and passengers boarding or alighting from buses or trams. The extent and quality of the visibility available to drivers is crucial in preventing and avoiding incidents. Conventionally, they have had to rely on fairly basic equipment - essentially the human
    Read More
  • Crossing the line: managing traffic across jurisdictions
    June 18, 2024
    The US will eventually have a fully-digitised transportation network, with traffic management devices talking to each other across massive distances. It’s really a question of pain points on the road to full deployment, explains Mark Talbot of Q-Free
    Read More

Highlighted Content