Next Tuesday in downtown Chicago, only a stone’s throw from the Jane Byrne Interchange Reconstruction Project, the Department of Transportation for the State of Illinois will host the national kick-off for this year’s National Work Zone Awareness Week.
Officially, the event begins at 10:30 a.m. at the Jane Byrne Interchange Peoria Street pedestrian bridge over Interstate 290 in downtown Chicago. Government officials, safety advocates, and others concerned about the continuing deaths and serious injuries in work zones around the country will be there.
For many years now, the National Work Zone Awareness Week (NWZAW) works to bring attention to both motorist and worker safety issues in work zones. Sponsors are the Federal Highway Administration (FHA); the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO); and the American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA).
Work Zone Safety: Everybody’s Responsibility
The slogan for this week’s events is “Work Zone Safety is Everybody’s Responsibility.” While the focus of the campaign is fighting the number of injuries and deaths on national roadways, the message applies just as well to state and local roads – and anywhere there are work projects near people or moving motor vehicles.
Drivers, passengers, and workers are all in danger of serious injury or death in a work zone accident.
What is a Work Zone?
According to the Code of Federal Regulations, a work zone is “… an area of a highway with construction, maintenance, or utility work activities. A work zone is typically marked by signs, channelizing devices, barriers, pavement markings, and/or work vehicles. It extends from the first warning sign or high-intensity rotating, flashing, oscillating, or strobe lights on a vehicle to the END ROAD WORK sign or the last temporary traffic control (TTC) device.” 23 CFR 630.1004
Go here to see the current work zone map for the State of Illinois.
Deadly and Dangerous Statistics for Work Zone Accidents
From FHA research reports compiling work zone accident data we know:
- In 2015 there were an estimated 96,626 crashes in work zones. This was an increase of 42% since 2013.
- A work zone crash occurs once every 5.4 MINUTES.
- 70 work zone crashes occur that result in at least one injury EVERY DAY.
- 12 work zone crashes occur that result in at least one fatality EVERY WEEK.
Additionally, we know there has been a significant increase in the risk of death in three areas of fatal work zone accidents: those involving (1) injuries to road construction workers; (2) collisions involving large trucks or buses; and (3) drivers who were speeding at the time of the crash.
Why are Work Zones so Dangerous?
In Indiana and Illinois, there are an unacceptable number of preventable injuries, some of them fatal, which occur in a work zone. According to the FHA, the common causes for these work zone accidents are frustrations that include the delays caused by the construction work; the constrained driving environment; and re-routing traffic alongside narrow right-of-ways.
These serious and fatal work zone accidents involve vehicle collisions, of course. However, there are a great many incidents where workers die in run overs, back overs, and falls in the work zone. (These are the leading cause of death for workers on road and bridge construction sites.)
According to the Indiana Department of Labor, “transportation-related fatalities are the most common cause of death for workers across the country.”
Extreme Danger to Construction Workers
For those working construction as a flagger, signaler, or handling traffic control in a work zone, the risk for serious injury or death is very high. Given the rising number of construction projects involving the roads of Indiana and Illinois, the risk of serious injury or death in a work zone accident is an extremely serious concern.
It is known that a “disproportionate number” of these fatalities involve large trucks, which corresponds to the high volume of commercial truck traffic here in our famed “Crossroads of America.” (See, Strategic Highway Safety Report, Illinois Department of Transportation, page 69.)
Work Zone Accidents Are Preventable
The Illinois Department of Transportation recognizes that “Construction Work Zone Crashes are 100% Preventable.”
For many, the answer lies in education. Illinois is promoting everyone driving the roads of the Chicago Metroplex as well as everyone living in the Land of Lincoln to take a pledge regarding construction work zones.
The Illinois Pledge states:
Construction work zone crashes are 100% preventable, and I pledge to do my part to make zero fatalities a reality. I know that driving recklessly through a construction work zone could end my life, the lives of others, and hurt those I care for the most. I won’t (1) text and drive; or (2) talk on my phone in a work zone. I will (1) Obey posted work zone speed limits – 24/7; (2) Pay attention to changing conditions when approaching a work zone; and (3) be courteous to other motorists.
Fighting the Injustice of Work Zone Accident Injuries
Will education be enough to stop victims from being seriously hurt or killed in a work zone accident here in Indiana or Illinois? Past experience suggests that it is not through awareness alone that change comes, but through forcing companies that put profits over people to be accountable for their actions. See: Construction Workers in Indiana and Illinois Deserve Respect for Working One of the Most Dangerous of Jobs.
In our next post, we will delve into various issues that compound the problem of fatal work zone accidents (including employer-sanctioned distracted driving, etc.).
Everyone driving the roads and highways of Indiana and Illinois is all too aware of the road construction in our part of the country. It’s particularly apt that the Kick-Off Event for this year’s Work Zone Awareness Week begins at a construction area that is nationally infamous for its delays and traffic jams.
Of course, it’s important to improve our roads and transportation systems. However, it is equally important to reduce the dangers to everyone coming into contact with these work zones.
Fatal work zone accidents and life-altering injuries from a work zone collision are entirely preventable. While there are state laws to provide justice to these victims, these dangers need to be addressed and stopped.
Here in Indiana and Illinois, the odds are very high that you or a loved one will come into contact with a construction work zone this week. Be careful out there!
