In May 2024, Doug Parker, the head of Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), called for the construction industry to recommit to building a safety culture within their job sites. 

“This is a responsibility of everyone to take a values-driven approach to health and safety and embed it in the culture of their work, from the top of the organization to the bottom,” he said.

This call to action followed 2022 data showing that the construction industry accounted for nearly half of all fatal falls, slips, and trips across all industries that year.  Parker emphasized that OSHA cannot change this culture merely by issuing citations. While the agency offers help through outreach programs, it has a limited number of inspectors.

Real change needs to come from individual construction companies. While construction workers must remain observant and make smart decisions on the job, it's the employer's responsibility to build, maintain, and grow a strong safety culture across all job sites. 

“Because if you don’t set the culture, people aren’t going to speak up," he said.

It’s crucial for those in power to advocate for safety because roadway work zones are inherently dangerous. Construction crew members working near utility lines risk electrocution. They also face serious injury or death from the power tools and heavy equipment in constant use. Additionally, these workers may also suffer from overexertion or exhaustion due to the physically demanding nature of the job.

There are also dangers beyond a construction worker’s control, such as the constant risk of near misses and struck-by collisions. Distracted and negligent driving are among the highest risks that construction crews face in work zones.

Construction work zones are dangerous for everyone

Work zones present a host of new information to drivers, giving them only moments to absorb the situation and react. This makes the road more dangerous for drivers in several ways. 

• Changing traffic patterns, lane configurations, and detours can confuse drivers and make them uncertain about which route to take.
• Barriers, equipment, or construction materials may reduce a driver's visibility, making it harder to see the road ahead.
• Sudden stops may occur along a work zone, potentially leading to rear-end collisions.
• Work zones often require drivers to merge lanes at some point along the road, which increases the risk of sideswipes.
• Lanes are temporarily narrowed during road construction, which makes it challenging for drivers to maneuver safely.
• Different phases of roadway construction can result in uneven  road surfaces, which can affect a driver's ability to control their vehicle.
• Drivers may unexpectedly encounter construction workers or their equipment along the route, posing risks to all parties involved. 

These same factors pose different risks for construction crew members. They must account for traffic flow disruptions, detours, road hazards, and speed and lane changes while trying to do their job. Work zones are busy, with people and machinery constantly moving around the designated area. 

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Not only do construction workers need to stay aware of those factors while they're working, but they also need to be hyper-aware of cars driving past their work zones. Near misses and struck-by collisions are one of the biggest risks that road construction workers face. These chilling statistics speak for themselves: 

• In the U.S., one work zone fatality occurs for every 4 billion vehicle-miles of travel and every $112 million worth of roadway construction expenditures.
• In 2022, there were an estimated 96,000 work zone collisions — around 37,000 ended in injury, with an estimated 891 fatalities.
• In 2022, 59% of work zone fatalities happened in a construction zone.
• Since 2010, work zone deaths have increased 52%, but have decreased 7% in 2022. 

Work zone collisions can lead to construction crew injuries or deaths

Most people don’t have to worry about getting harmed at their workplace — but construction crew members do. They work in exposed job sites along the highway. Staying safe depends on many factors — message boards, orange barrels, attenuators and other visual alerts. However,  these aren’t always enough to catch a driver’s attention in time. 

Construction crews have to constantly consider this. WMAR News noted that in May of 2024, nearly 2 in 3 contractors reported a crash in a job site over the past year. Data showed that nearly 1 in 4 contracting firms had reported experiencing five or more crashes in the last year. Tragically, almost 1 in 10 respondents reported that a construction worker was killed in one of these collisions.

Michigan’s data from the last year aligns with this. In May of 2024 the state reported a spike in work zone crashes over the past year. In 2023, Michigan saw 7,237 work zone crashes, resulting in 1,896 work zone injuries and 17 fatal work zone crashes.

“People's lives are at stake. That is really what it comes down to. We hear every year about road workers that are killed or injured in work zone crashes,” Brad Swanson, MDOT Construction Engineer told the Petoskey News-Review.

KRCG News reported a similar spike in Missouri. In 2023, the state experienced 35 fatalities stemming from work zone crashes — the highest number in Missouri's history. The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) reported that distracted driving contributed to 588 work zone crashes and five of those fatalities. Work zone vehicles were hit 63 times in 2023 — that's an increase of 27 from 2022.

“These protective vehicles are the only thing between our workers making road improvements or repairs and the traveling public. Keeping everyone safe is our number one priority,” MoDOT Highway Safety and Traffic Engineer Nicole Hood told KRCG News. “When you see flashing lights and arrows, pay attention, slow down and move over.”

How to establish a strong safety culture in your job sites

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Unfortunately, distracted drivers will always pose a threat to road construction workers. However,  there are steps that crews can take to better protect themselves on the road. The first should be to create a strong safety culture across all their jobs. 

As the Construction Management Association of America (CMAA) says, a safety culture is "an all-employee system of shared beliefs, practices, and attitudes that exist In an organization that shapes behavior and drives the way in which all work is performed.” It's a commitment to banish the idea that accidents and injuries are just "part of the job" for construction. Workers deserve better, and companies should strive for zero incidents across all job sites. 

A strong safety culture starts with building a safety management system. CMAA lists the following items as key elements of an effective system: 

• Demonstrated commitment to the belief that all accidents can be prevented
• Adequate staffing with safety professionals
• Safe work practices for common activities
• Job site safety planning before specific activities are executed
• Safety training and education
• Employee participation in defining the elements or the safety management system and making necessary adjustments as they come up
• Subcontractor management
• Crew member recognition and rewards
• Struck-by and near miss reporting, along with investigations focused on root causes
• Disseminating learnings from incidents, struck-by collisions, and near misses.
• Drug and alcohol testing on crew members
• Periodic audits and worker surveys to assure the safety management system is working as defined

In 2020, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 20.7% of all deaths in the private sector occurred in construction jobs. It's an inherently risky industry. It may feel impossible to keep up with the necessary elements that make up a strong safety management system. But here are some strategies to help get you started:

• Set safety goals and targets to measure progress and areas for improvement
• Provide workers with resources, such as PPE, to safely do their jobs
• Offer incentives like bonuses or promotions to reward safe behavior
• Hold employees accountable when they don't follow safety rules
• Leverage technology to enhance safety 

Improving job site safety requires new technology

Regulatory bodies such as OSHA are continually pushing new rules and processes to address  issues in construction, such as  heat, mental health, and union participation in safety inspections. Insurance costs and the risk of litigation are soaring. Contractors are also demanding higher safety standards on job sites to manage their insurance costs and mitigate litigation risks.

Construction crews are finding themselves in need of immediate ways to ensure worker safety. Technology is the answer. As For Construction Pros stated , “emerging technologies have the potential to significantly improve workplace safety in the construction industry by providing better risk assessment, enhanced communication, and real-time monitoring of workers and environments.” 

Implementing new technology will help to create smarter work zones. Here are some solutions to consider:

• Dynamic lane merge system — This technology allows you to adjust the merging process based on real-time traffic conditions, giving you a more controlled flow of traffic right by your work zone. 
• Incident management system — Track safety incidents and identify potential hazards and risks at your job sites to make more informed decisions moving forward regarding the safety of your crew members.
• 3D printing — A 3D printing solution lets you print complex structures with high precision and ease. A tool like this can be leveraged to create custom safety equipment that is tailored to specific job sites. 
• Wearable technology — Wearable helmets, vests, and wristbands can monitor vital signs, detect hazardous substances, and provide real-time alerts to prevent collisions and ensure workers stay within designated safe zones. 
• Speed safety camera — These automated systems can detect and capture images of speeding cars so you can better enforce speed limits in and around your work zone. 
• Variable speed limit (VSL) — A VSL is an active traffic management (ATM) strategy that uses dynamic speed limit signs to slow traffic before and through adverse conditions on the freeway to improve work zone safety.
• Environmental monitoring and control — These systems can measure air quality, noise levels, temperature, humidity, and other factors that affect worker health and safety. With this data, companies can create safer environments for workers. 
• Implement a digital alert system — These systems send electronic notifications that notify civilian drivers of an upcoming hazard, such as a job site along the side of the road, and prompt them to slow down and move over. 

Digital alerting can help improve safety culture at your work zones

A digital alert refers to an electronic notification sent directly to a driver. These alerts inform drivers that there is a nearby or upcoming hazard, such as a construction job site on the side of the road, and they need to slow down and move over.

Analog alerting tools, like high-visibility vests and cones, on their own are no longer enough to catch a driver's attention early enough. 

But digital alerts do.

These notifications cut through the distractions to provide drivers with visual and audible alerts. Advanced warning systems like Safety Cloud by HAAS Alert® have been proven to mitigate the risks associated with distracted driving.

HAAS Alert's Tom Parbs told the American Road & Transportation Builders Association that driving and talking on the phone “is the equivalent of operating a vehicle with a .08 blood alcohol content.”

“The motoring public likes to multitask,” he added. “These alerts disrupt the distractions. They make people aware 30 seconds before the traditional advanced warning area of a work zone.

Safety Cloud-equipped vehicles or assets immediately send out alerts as soon as their lights are activated. Drivers receive them up to 30 seconds before they come into contact with a roadway hazard. The motoring public receives these alerts through compatible in-vehicle infotainment centers and through leading navigation apps like Waze.

These alerts can reach drivers up to a half-mile up from the work zone. That gives drivers more than enough time and space to slow down and move over.

Any professional in the construction industry knows how crucial this extra time is. Haley Norman, co-owner of Direct Traffic Control, was raised in the construction industry. Prioritizing employee safety was ingrained in her from an early age. 

Once she rose through the ranks of Direct Traffic Control, she realized her crews needed a better layer of protection on the road. Take a look at this case to learn why she decided digital alerting was the solution she needed. 

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