God bless those who do road work, one of the most important, grueling, thankless, and dangerous jobs in the construction industry. Workers often do work on roads and highways within inches of speeding cars. Unfortunately, according to accident statistics, the jobs are getting more dangerous. With summer upon us, and jobs budding thanks to flowing infrastructure funding, it's a good time to take a closer look.
The Associated General Contractors of America released its annual report surveying highway construction builders.
The AGC report indicates highway workers more likely to be struck by a vehicle while working than any other time in the last 17 years. Nearly 65% of companies reported at least one crash in the last year with one third reporting five or more crashes in the last year.
Out of all the accidents, 7% resulted in the death of a workers, and 15% of the drivers were killed.
Making road work more safe for workers is a priority of all construction companies.
Continued training of crews is vitally important. Companies should give safety reminders before every shift. There's also new technology available including wearables alerting workers to nearby vehicles.
Construction companies need to make sure construction signage and warning lights are placed in the right spots and functional.
Barriers are also helpful.
In an effort to reduce congestion, many states and counties require construction crews to work at night. This is more dangerous because drivers are often speeding on the open roads, and are more likely to be intoxicated.
Contractors need to push for a police help and more automated enforcement.
