Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/521868
EquipmentWorld.com | May 2015 15 reporter | by Equipment World staff A survey by the Associated General Con- tractors of America (AGC) fi nds that 46 percent of road contractors have had a vehicle crash in one of their work zones, with 30 percent indicating at least fi ve such incidents in a year's time. As a result, the association is calling for motorists to pay more atten- tion when traveling through work zones, in particular citing the results show- ing that drivers or passengers are more likely to be injured during those inci- dents than workers. "If the thought of saving someone else's life isn't enough to get you to slow down, just remember that you and your passen- gers are more likely to suffer in a highway work zone crash than anyone else," said Tom Foss, president of Brea, California-based Griffi th Company and the chairman of AGC's Highway and Transportation Divi- sion. "In most work zones, there just isn't enough margin for error for anyone to speed through or lose focus." The survey, con- ducted in March and April of 800 contractors nationwide, found only 16 percent of workers were injured during work zone vehicle crashes, but 9 percent involved a worker fa- tality. Fifty-fi ve percent of those incidents killed one worker, 36 percent killed two workers, and 9 percent killed fi ve or more. Forty-one percent surveyed reported drivers or passengers injured during the crashes, but 22 percent indicated they didn't know if either was injured. Ten- percent reported fatalities resulting from the crashes, with 50 percent reporting one death, 26 percent reporting two deaths, and 12 percent reported fi ve or more. Crashes in work zones causes de- lays 26 percent of the time, with the majority (33 percent) causing less than one day of work delays. Twenty-six per- cent of contractors, however, indicated crashes caused at least four days of delays. Oregon DOT develops workzone awareness infographic The Oregon Depart- ment of Transporta- tion has developed an infographic designed to educate and bring awareness of work zone dangers for motorists. On the infographic, seen in full here, ODOT highlights the number of work zone crashes and fatalities that occur each year in the state, as well as the main causes of crashes in work zones – inattention, speed, driving too fast for conditions. – Chris Hill Nearly half of road contractors have seen a work zone crash in the last year (continued on next page)