A recent report from the Center for Construction Research and Training (CPWR) contains important warnings for all construction workers on the job here in Indiana and Illinois.
The complete report, released last week, deals with a growing concern about the number of serious injuries and fatal accidents involving construction workers at road construction sites.
The report is entitled “Fatal Injuries at Road Construction Sites among Construction Workers,” written by Xuanwen Wang, Ph.D., Rebecca Katz, MPH, and Xiuwen Sue Dong, DrPH of the CPWR Data Center.
Who is the CPWR?
Can we trust this resource? Yes. CPWR is an organization that delves into injury research and safety data in a contractual arrangement with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), part of the CDC.
Since 1990, it has been working towards building a “safety culture” within the construction industry. Read the fine print, and CPWR acknowledges an affiliation with the workers in the construction business. Specifically, CPWR is the “research and training arm” of NABTU (National Association of Building Trade Unions).
CPWR describes itself as a “…research consortium of experts at universities, government agencies, unions, and corporations (project owners, contractors, and insurers). Collaborating organizations include Colorado State University, Duke University Medical Center, East Carolina University, George Washington University, Oregon State University, University of California, Northeastern University, University of Massachusetts – Lowell, University of Iowa, and Washington University in St. Louis.”
Road Construction Work is Very Dangerous
Drive anywhere in Indiana and Illinois, and it won’t be long before you are entering a construction zone. Highway construction, as well as urban streets, rural routes, and other roadways is happening all over our part of the country. For details, consider our discussion of area road projects back in April 2018 as part of National Work Zone Accident Awareness Week.
There, we reported the following findings from the Federal Highway Administration (FHA):
- In 2015 there were an estimated 96,626 crashes in work zones. This was an increase of 42% since 2013.
- A work zone crash occurs once every 5.4 MINUTES.
- 70 work zone crashes occur that result in at least one injury EVERY DAY.
- 12 work zone crashes occur that result in at least one fatality EVERY WEEK.
2018 Road Construction Fatal Accident Report
The new research study is an analysis of fatal construction accidents occurring from 2011 to 2016. During that five year period, 532 construction workers were killed at road construction sites. The CPWR found that is TWICE the number of fatalities as all other industries combined. (See Table 3; Report, page 4.)
Rising Number of Deaths at Road Construction Work Sites
While the good news is that more and more workers are earning a living in the construction trades, the sad reality is that there is a corresponding trend of more people dying on the job while doing road construction.
According to the report, in 2016 there were 16% more people working construction than in 2012. The number of construction worker deaths during that same time period rose by 32%. That’s double the rate of the increase in jobs. (Report, page 3.)
Among those deaths, 9% of the construction workers killed on the job died at road construction sites. And this number may be low: CPWR warns that “…the real risk at road construction sites may be underestimated because the exact number of construction workers working on such sites is unknown.” (Report, page 4.)
Most Road Construction Deaths Are Caused by Workers Struck by a Motor Vehicle
There are several dangers that may cause the death of a construction worker on the roads of Indiana and Illinois. However, the greatest risk by far is the danger of the worker being hit by a car, SUV, or other motor vehicle while on the job.
The CPWR research found that a little over HALF (50.2%) of road construction deaths were caused by pedestrian vehicular incidents.
Of these pedestrian vehicular incidents, over half (61.4%) happened when the worker was hit by the vehicle driving through the work zone (forward); another 24.7% resulted from the worker being hit while the driver was backing up. (Report, page 5.)
The Most Dangerous Times for Road Construction Workers
Culling through the fatal accident data, CPWR was able to determine the times when things are most dangerous for construction workers doing road construction work. According to their findings, workers need to be most vigilant during the following time periods:
- June, July, August, September, and October: these five months tally over half of all fatalities;
- Morning and early afternoon are the most dangerous times of day on a road construction site;
- The most dangerous part of the workday is between ten o’clock in the morning (10:00) and noon(12:00), when 1 in 5 fatal accidents occur.
The Most Dangerous Road Construction Projects
Finally, some road work projects appear to be more inherently dangerous than others for the construction worker.
Those working on projects involving highways, streets, and/or bridges are in the greatest danger. The data reveals that 72% of all road construction deaths occur while the victim is working in the construction subsector of “Highway, Street, Bridge.”
Justice for Road Construction Accident Victims
This new report shows that road construction workers are most at risk of dying while on the job doing construction work. Road construction fatalities rank highest among all the construction trades (Report, page 10).
After those doing road work, (1) paving/surfacing equipment operators and (2) highway maintenance workers had the second and third highest risk of fatal construction work accidents.
For those who have been seriously injured or killed while working road construction, it is vital to investigate what rights you and your loved ones may have under the state workers’ compensations laws as well as whether or not you have valid personal injury claims against other parties.
There may be claims for negligence against the driver of the car who caused the accident. There might be claims for product liability against manufacturers and distributors of a flawed or defective product.
Both Indiana and Illinois have laws on the books to help provide justice to victims of road construction accidents. This new report serves to warn us all of the dangers of road work zones, and reminds us of the risks that construction workers undertake in order to get the job done. Please be careful out there!
