Introduction
Maintaining and upgrading roadways play a crucial role in work zones. Unfortunately, activities such as construction and narrowed traffic patterns often create a combination of factors resulting in crashes, fatalities, and injuries. These activities also cause excessive delays, especially given the constrained driving environment.
Please visit the National Clearinghouse for additional information on safety zones. The first step in improving safety zone work for constructability and mobility is to make changes based on an understanding of current data trends. This page provides insights and highlights on work related to data zones.
In 2020, there were 7 fatalities and in 2021, there were 5 fatalities related to personal conveyances and non-motorized transport devices, involving occupants and other individuals. Conversely, in 2021, there were 173 fatalities compared to 171 in 2020, which involved bicyclists and pedestrians. Additionally, in 2020, there were 778 driver fatalities, whereas in 2021, there were 685 driver fatalities. The total number of work zone fatalities by person type in 2021 is 956, while in 2020, it was 863.
There were a total of 874 crashes on different highways, with 1 crash on road 1 and a local road, 17 crashes on a collector road, 80 crashes on an arterial road, and 423 crashes on an interstate road. Similarly, in 2020, there were 780 reported crashes, with 3 crashes on other roadways, 22 crashes on a local road, 65 crashes on a collector road, 384 crashes on an arterial road, and 306 crashes on an interstate road. These statistics, shown in two pie charts, depict the types of roadways involved in fatal traffic crashes in 2021 and 2020.
In 2021, there were 108 fatalities in road construction sites and in 2020, there were 117 occupational worker fatalities on the highway. In 2021, 32% of the fatalities (296 in total) were caused by speeding, whereas in 2020, 38% of the fatalities (210 in total) involved a CMV. Additionally, in 2021, 24% of the fatalities (158 in total) were a result of a rear-end collision, compared to 20% in 2020. The following types of fatal work zone crashes increased from 2020 to 2021.