Next week will herald the 23rd annual National Work Zone Awareness Week, a public service campaign coordinated by co-sponsors the Federal Highway Administration; the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials; and the American Traffic Safety Services Association. State governments, safety agencies, and advocates for construction industry accident victims and their loved ones are also actively promoting and sharing the campaign’s message, designed to educate the general public on the serious dangers posed within a construction work zone.
For more on the dangers facing construction workers in the road work zones of Indiana and Illinois, read: Fatal Road Work Zone Accidents in Indiana and Illinois and Pew Trust Warns Roadway Work Zone Fatalities Rise in 2020 for Workers, Drivers, and Passengers of Motor Vehicles: “It’s Crazy.”
What is a Work Zone?
The Illinois Department of Transportation provides a thorough definition of a construction work zone. It explains:
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 ….
Work zones also include roadway sections where there is ongoing, moving (mobile) work activity such as lane line painting or roadside mowing only if the beginning of the ongoing, moving (mobile) work activity is designated by warning signs or signals.
National Moment of Silence on April 15, 2022
Each day of National Work Zone Awareness Week focuses upon different topics and themes. Wednesday will be “Go Orange Day,” for instance, where roadway safety professionals are encouraged to wear orange in support of work zone safety.
Of tremendous import from the perspective of those dedicated to helping construction worker victims and their families in the aftermath of these work zone accidents is the new event scheduled for April 15, 2022. This is the new National Moment of Silence to remember those who have lost their lives in work zone incidents.
We encourage and support the observance of this year’s National Moment of Silence for Work Zone Victims and Their Loved Ones, with individuals or groups taking time out of their day to observe the moment of silence in their remembrance.
Infrastructure Investment Act and Construction Work Zones
Of particular importance is the need to protect those working on our local construction road work projects here in Indiana and Illinois in the near future. With the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (“IIJA”), there will be a steady and significant increase in the number of road work zones in our part of the country as our local roads, bridges, and rails will be repaired, upgraded, or rebuilt.
Billions of dollars in federal funding are being provided for construction projects in both Illinois and Indiana by the IIJA where long-term road work zones will be necessary.
For more, read the details in the White House Fact Sheet for Illinois and the White House Fact Sheet for Indiana, as well as our earlier discussion of the impact of the IIJA in Passage of the 2021 Infrastructure Act and Deadly Motor Vehicle Accidents in Indiana and Illinois.
Note: The Illinois Department of Transportation provides an online map of current construction work zones on state roads which is updated daily.
Construction Worker Safety in the Road Work Zones of Indiana and Illinois
The FHWA has provided an education booklet for construction workers that details a variety of dangers that can be present on any road work zone here in Indiana or Illinois. Entitled “Roadway Safety – Awareness Program, Trainee Booklet,” it warns of road work zone hazards that include the following:
- Electrical hazards
- Fall hazards
- Flagger safety
- Health hazards
- Night work
- Noise hazards
- Operator safety
- Working outdoors
- Runovers and backovers
- Temporary traffic control devices
- Struck or crushed
- Sprains and strains
- Trenching
- Emergencies
- Disaster Response
- Safe Driving.
Under both federal law and the state laws of Indiana and Illinois, there are duties of care and safety that must be respected and followed by the employers and site owners of the work zone, and the failure to do so can result in legal liability for all the consequences of a work zone accident. Federal safety regulations for construction work zones can be found in 29 CFR §1926.
Construction workers should be kept safe from the harms listed by the FHWA above with employers and site owners doing things like:
- Training all work zone construction workers on the unique dangers involved in this job site;
- Providing all work zone construction workers with safety gear and personal protective equipment (PPE) such as high-visibility vests and clothing;
- Providing warning and hazard signs and materials for use at the road work zone, such as flashing lights, flags, alarms, and red warning street signs;
- Having an on-site emergency coordinator trained and prepared to deal with any incident where someone is hurt at the work zone;
- Providing emergency first-aid equipment for use at the construction work zone; and
- Having work zone plans in place for the evacuation of personnel and turning off of machines and equipment as needed after a work zone incident.
Justice for Construction Workers Injured or Killed in a Work Zone Accident
Employers and those with control or ownership of road work zone operations have a legal duty not only to understand and be aware of all these risks to the construction workers in the work zone, they also have a responsibility to do everything reasonable and prudent to protect these people from being harmed.
When a construction worker on the job in a road work zone is seriously injured in a work zone accident, there is a legal right to investigate the incident to determine if there has been a failure in that legal duty of protecting workers from harm.
Claims may be available under the laws of negligence, premises liability, workers’ compensation, and wrongful death that can provide recompense for things like medical expenses, lost wages, lost future earning capacity, pain and suffering, present and future rehabilitation needs, funeral expenses, and more.
For more on construction worker accident risks in road work zones, read:
- Work Zone Accidents in Indiana and Illinois & Risk of Serious or Deadly Roadside Crashes In Work Sites
- Work Zones in Illinois and Indiana: Fatal Accidents, Serious Injuries
- The Increasing Danger of Dying on the Job: Fatality Risk Just Keeps Growing for Workers
- What are Catastrophic Injuries? Severe Bodily Harm Suffered by Accident Survivors in Indiana and Illinois
- Fatal Accidents and Wrongful Death Lawsuits in Indiana and Illinois.
The next few years will bring more and more construction road work zones to our part of the country, and construction workers deserve to be kept safe from the known dangers of these job sites. Employers have a legal responsibility to protect and prevent work zone accidents. Please be careful out there!
