Working at road construction sites can be dangerous. Between 2011 and 2016, 532 construction workers lost their lives at road construction sites, an average of 89 workers each year. The Center for Construction Research and Training's (CPWR) Data Center recently explored road construction fatality trends and causes using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Among the key findings:
- About half of these deaths happened when a worker on foot was struck by a vehicle or mobile heavy equipment (such as a dump truck on the worksite, or a passing car intruding on the worksite).
- Construction laborers suffered the greatest number of construction fatalities, and both the number and rate of laborers' fatalities increased substantially during the economic recovery.
- "Crossing Guards" (i.e., flaggers) had the highest risk, with 41 out of every 100,000 workers killed on the job each year.
These deaths can be prevented with proper deployment of barriers and intrusion alarms to protect workers from passing vehicles, improved traffic enforcement in work zones, and other interventions. To learn more, visit CPWR's Construction Solutions database.
The complete Quarterly Data Report, Fatal Injuries at Road Construction Sites among Construction Workers, is available on the CPWR website.
Source: CPWR
