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Fatal injuries at road work zones

April 05, 2017

April 3–7 is National Work Zone Awareness Week. From 2011 to 2015, 609 workers were killed from injuries at road work zones in the United States. These work zones include construction, maintenance, or utility work on a road, street, or highway. Workers in Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, and California incurred the most fatal injuries at road construction sites during the 5-year period.

 

 

Fatal occupational injuries at road work zones by state, 2011–15
State Number

Total

609

Alabama

17

Alaska

1

Arizona

3

Arkansas

18

California

32

Colorado

10

Connecticut

5

Delaware

-

District of Columbia

1

Florida

38

Georgia

5

Hawaii

-

Idaho

2

Illinois

21

Indiana

25

Iowa

7

Kansas

7

Kentucky

12

Louisiana

16

Maine

3

Maryland

10

Massachusetts

8

Michigan

12

Minnesota

5

Mississippi

13

Missouri

8

Montana

4

Nebraska

6

Nevada

8

New Hampshire

-

New Jersey

14

New Mexico

7

New York

17

North Carolina

22

North Dakota

6

Ohio

19

Oklahoma

16

Oregon

10

Pennsylvania

38

Rhode Island

2

South Carolina

16

South Dakota

4

Tennessee

25

Texas

67

Utah

5

Vermont

2

Virginia

13

Washington

6

West Virginia

7

Wisconsin

10

Wyoming

6

Note: Dashes indicate no data reported or data do not meet publication criteria.

About 46 percent of these workers were killed in pedestrian vehicular incidents, which include being struck by a vehicle or mobile equipment. Workers were most frequently struck by automobiles or dump trucks. Of the 79 workers struck by an automobile, the automobile was moving forward in 72 cases. Of the 49 workers struck by a dump truck, the dump truck was backing up in 40 cases.

 

 

Fatal occupational injuries at road work zones caused by pedestrian vehicle incidents, by the vehicle or mobile equipment that struck the worker, 2011–15
Vehicle or mobile equipment Number

Total

279

Automobile

79

Dump truck

49

Pickup truck

48

Semi, tractor-trailer, tanker truck

26

SUV, sports utility vehicle

26

Passenger van

8

Delivery truck or van

5

Backhoes, trackhoes

3

Rollers, compactors - construction

3

Skid steer loaders, mini loaders

3

Street sweeping and cleaning machinery

3

All other vehicles and mobile equipment

26

These data are from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, which is part of the Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities program. A Monthly Labor Review article examined fatal occupational injuries at road construction sites over the 2003–10 period.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Fatal injuries at road work zones at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2017/fatal-injuries-at-road-work-zones.htm (visited December 10, 2024).

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