Work Zone Crash Risk Climbs for Third Straight Year, Survey Finds
According to Safety+Health Magazine, highway construction contractors are reporting increasing work zone crash risk, based on results from the annual Work Zone Awareness Survey conducted by the Associated General Contractors of America and software company HCSS. Nearly 600 U.S. firms responded, with 51% saying crash risk is greater than a year ago, up from 47% in the prior survey. Sixty percent of respondents experienced a work zone crash in the past year, and 33% reported five or more incidents. Seven percent observed a worker fatality linked to a crash.
What It Means for Subcontractors
- Review traffic control plans and crew positioning before summer construction ramps up, as distracted and speeding drivers remain the leading hazard near active work zones.
- With 33% of firms reporting five or more crashes in a single year, incident frequency is high enough to treat work zone safety as a routine operational risk, not an edge case.
- AGC CEO Jeffrey Shoaf noted that “too many drivers continue to speed, use their phones or simply fail to pay attention in work zones,” reinforcing that crews cannot rely on driver compliance and must build defensible site setups accordingly.
