What should drivers do in work zones?

Slow down and pay attention, experts said. The faster a car is going, the higher a chance someone hit by it will be killed. Though many factors affect the risk of injury or death, on average, a pedestrian has a 50 percent risk of death if hit at 42 mph. That jumps to a 90 percent chance of death at 58 mph, according to a AAA study examining risk between 2007 and 2009. Slowing down also helps drivers prepare for lane closures, changes in traffic patterns, reduced speed limits or the need to stop, according to the U.S. Transportation Department. “If you slow down, you give yourself more time to perceive and make decisions,” Horrey said. Being focused — and not distracted by a phone, food, the radio and so on — is also important. Experts advised paying attention to signs, construction areas, changes in the road conditions and the speed of traffic. “You’ve got to be paying attention,” said Gerald L. Ullman, a senior research engineer at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute. “Unfortunately, I don’t know that we’ve been successful in recent years in getting folks to put down their phones, to not look at any other electronic devices in their vehicle as they approach and pass through a work zone.” The Transportation Department also recommends never cutting off a truck or bus and keeping a safe distance between cars to avoid rear-end crashes. It suggests researching your driving route ahead of time so you’re prepared to encounter work zones or can take a detour.

What if no one else is slowing down?

Drivers should still slow down and heed signs and speed limits, experts say. “Don’t get caught up in the speed that other people are going,” Horrey said. “Just slow down to the appropriate speed that’s specified, because at the end of the day, no one really wants to become involved in a crash or take the life of one of these poor roadside workers that’s out there in these risky situations.” Over time, drivers who slow down can improve the norms, leading more people to slow down, he added. It’s also important not to slow down so drastically that you become a hazard on the road, Ullman said; be aware of other drivers’ behavior.

What is good etiquette?

Drivers should recognize “it’s not a fight” to get through a construction zone, Ullman said. “Be more patient and polite with each other. Everybody’s trying to get through the work zone,” Ullman said. “Fighting to be the first or whatever isn’t worth it.” And, he added, if you see somebody whip around everyone else at a high speed, don’t copy them: “A lot” of crashes occur because an impatient driver pulls out in front of other cars.

Drivers must follow the posted speed limit, and some states dole out higher fines for traffic penalties in construction zones. All 50 states also have “Slow Down, Move Over” laws that require drivers to move over one lane or slow down when approaching first responders or tow trucks on the roadside. Only some states require that for utility vehicles, road maintenance and disabled cars, according to AAA, but experts advise drivers to do so anyway. “People that are out on foot, regardless if they’re first responders, construction personnel, tow truck drivers, whoever — they’re highly vulnerable,” Ullman said. “Giving those folks out on the highways … extra space provides that factor of safety, so that even if you lose control or whatever, there’s a greater possibility that you’ll miss that person than if you were [driving] right next to them.”

What are other dangers for construction workers?

The leading cause of death across the construction industry from 2011 to 2021 was falls to a lower level, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data analyzed by the Center for Construction Research and Training, making up 35 percent of fatal injuries in construction. Incidents in which a worker was struck by an object or car accounted for 17 percent of deaths; electrocution just over 7 percent; and being caught in between equipment or objects was nearly 6 percent. Other types of incidents made up 34 percent. Those causes — falls, struck by something, electrocution and caught in equipment — are classified as the top safety hazards for construction workers.

When are there extra risks?

Construction projects generally increase in the spring, so road-safety advocates ask drivers to be particularly alert in warmer months. National Work Zone Awareness Week occurs every April. And risks can be greater at night, when drivers can’t see as much and the risk of intoxicated or drowsy driving may be higher, Ullman said. That makes driving defensively even more important at night. Whenever driving, stay alert and use common sense, experts say: “Slow down, move over, and pay attention,” Horrey said.

Transportation

Driving through a work zone? Here’s what to remember — and why.

By Justine McDaniel

March 23, 2023 at 9:14 p.m. EDT

After six road workers were killed in a crash on a Maryland highway, a worker states away shares his terrifying experience. (Video: Rich Matthews, Jorge Ribas/The Washington Post)

6 min

Crashes in work zones kill hundreds of people each year, with 774 fatal crashes, 857 deaths and 102,000 total crashes in 2020, according to federal data analyzed by the National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse.

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On Wednesday afternoon, six construction workers were killed on a major interstate in Maryland after being hit by a driver who was attempting to change lanes and hit another car, lost control, and moved through a gap in concrete barriers into their work zone.

From 1982 to 2020, work zone crashes killed more than 29,000 people in the United States. Though the average number of annual deaths declined after 2002, it had increased again by 2020, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

“The bottom line is that every work zone, especially on interstates and freeways, is a high-risk dangerous situation for those workers, sometimes working within feet of an active traffic lane,” William J. Horrey, technical director of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, told The Washington Post. “Really trying to get drivers to respect that and pay attention and slow down and all that stuff is just critical.”

Spring construction and improvements to aging infrastructure can mean more work crews on the roads. Here are top tips for drivers passing work zones.

6 road construction workers killed in Maryland when car crashes into them