Highway and street construction workers are at risk of both fatal and nonfatal injuries when working near passing motorists, construction vehicles, and equipment. Each year, more than 100 workers are killed and over 20,000 are injured in the highway and street construction industry.
Jack's Story
Jack was working as a flagger on a construction crew of 11 workers paving the northbound side of a six-lane highway. A motorist did not see him. Jack was hit by the car and ended up in the hospital.
- Have you or someone you know been injured or nearly injured while working on a highway or street project? If so, what happened?
Remember This
To reduce their risk of injury from road traffic, workers and crew leaders can take the following actions:
- Wear high visibility clothing with a fluorescent background or reflective materials, including vests, arm bands or hats.
- Be aware of your surroundings, and identify potential hazards.
- Stay out of lanes or areas where walking is prohibited.
- Make sure you are aware of and understand hand and other communication signals that will be used on the jobsite.
- Listen for reverse-signal alarms.
- Ask your supervisor about closing the road, rerouting to control traffic or setting up barriers (concrete is more protective than cones).
- Have a traffic control expert walk or ride through the jobsite to look for evidence of near-misses, such as skid marks or damaged barricades.
- Use traffice control devices such as signs, warning signals, paddles and concrete barriers consistently througout the entire work area.
- Have flaggers use devices that increase their visibility. For example, a flashing Slow/Stop paddle with a mounted strobe light has been found to be effective.