Transportation Construction Workers and Vehicle Occupants Face Increased Risk of Death in Road Work Zone Crash
This year, both Indiana and Illinois have seen continued work on the building or repair of roadways despite the COVID-19 Pandemic. Transportation Construction Workers working on highway, roadway, and rail infrastructure or equipment are considered “essential” by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Accordingly, the road construction industry considers itself “largely unaffected” by COVID-19 as long as infrastructure funding remains. Read, “Maintenance Can’t Wait: Road Construction During COVID-19,” written by Dallas Little and published by Blacklidge on April 16, 2020.
Transportation construction projects involving the repair or maintenance of the system of roads in our part of the country have continued unabated. In fact, the pandemic has increased the amount of work zones and roadway construction here. Read, “Highway Construction Boosted Amid COVID-19 Pandemic,” written by Deborah Pevy and published in the Chicago Morning Star.
Current Indiana Road Construction Work Zones
Last week, for example, Indiana Department of Transportation (InDOT) crews began nighttime repair work on State Road 9 in Greenfield, patching the road surface from its intersection with I-70 down to County Road 100S.
Current major road projects for INDOT according to its website include the following:
- I-65 Added Travel Lanes and Rehabilitation;
- Heavy Haul Transportation Corridor; and
- I-69 Added Travel Lanes and Maintenance.
Current Illinois Road Construction Work Zones
In Illinois, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IlDOT) provides an online map to update the public about current road construction work zones within the state. In October 2020, there were 874 road construction projects across the state.
Illinois road construction projects listed on its IlDOT website include:
- Overnight lane, ramp closures at Jane Byrne start tomorrow as work continues with removal of steel beams at the Adams Street bridge;
- Widening of Illinois 125 begins week of Sept. 21; and
- S. 45/52 resurfacing begins Sept. 20 Nighttime work from Kankakee to Bourbonnais.
What are Work Zones?
Work zones on the roads of Indiana and Illinois are defined as any place where any kind of roadwork is taking place, from small rural two-lane state routes to our largest multi-lane expressways. Work zones can include men and women working alongside moving traffic and construction equipment. There may be lane closures or detours involved.
Officially, “work zones” are defined in 23 CFR §630.1004 as “… an area of a highway with construction, maintenance, or utility work activities. A work zone is typically marked by signs, channelizing devices, barriers, pavement markings, and/or work vehicles. It extends from the first warning sign or high-intensity rotating, flashing, oscillating, or strobe lights on a vehicle to the END ROAD WORK sign or the last temporary traffic control (TTC) device.”
We have warned about the dangers of work zone accidents and the risk that construction workers face while working in a roadway work zone before. See: “Work Zone Accidents in Indiana and Illinois – Risk of Serious or Deadly Roadside Crashes In Work Sites.”
It is important to recognize that work zones are not dangerous and potentially deadly just for the workers on the job site doing repair or maintenance on the infrastructure. There is also the risk of a serious or deadly injury to those occupying motor vehicles moving through the work zone itself. Police officers, fire fighters, emergency responders, and others also face an increased risk of death when they enter a roadway work zone to help after a work zone crash.
Shocking Rise in Work Zone Deaths for Both Workers and Vehicle Occupants
This month, the Pew Charitable Trusts warned that work zone crashes on our roadways are rising and the number of people dying in these work zone accidents is increasing this year, despite the Coronavirus Pandemic. See “Work Zone Crashes Climb During Pandemic, Even as Traffic Ebbs,” written by Jenni Bergal and published by PEW on October 6, 2020.
One example given by Pew came from the Michigan Department of Transportation, where the state had three (3) worker fatalities in roadway work zones during the entire year of 2019 as compared with two deaths and four serious injuries within a single week in 2020. “It’s crazy,” stated an MDOT spokesperson to Pew.
Speeding
Things are deadlier in roadway construction work zones this year for several reasons, according to the experts, even though there has been less traffic on the roads due to Coronavirus Stay at Home Orders. One of the biggest factors is speeding. Drivers are failing to drive responsibly on our roads, and lowering their speed and being ready to stop when approaching a roadway work zone is paramount to safety.
For more about the dangers of speeding, read:
- Speeding and Serious or Fatal Semi-Truck Crashes in Illinois or Indiana
- Speeding Causes Almost Half of All Fatal Car Crashes in Illinois (Around 25% in Indiana)
- Speeding Kills: Driving Over the Speed Limit Still Causes Too Many Fatal Crashes in Indiana and Illinois.
Distracted Driving
Another contributing cause to these work zone fatalities is driver distraction. Drivers on our roads are driving without keeping their attention to the job at hand: operating their motor vehicle. As a result, distracted drivers are approaching roadway work zones without the proper focus and serious or fatal injuries are the result.
For more about the dangers of distracted driving, read:
- Distracted Driving in 2020: New Findings Warn of Continued Risk of Deadly Accidents Due to Phone Distractions
- Employer Liability for Distracted Driving Accidents in Indiana or Illinois
- Fatal Distracted Driving Accidents: How Much at Risk are You Here in Indiana and Illinois?
Fatal Work Zone Accident Claims for Justice in Indiana and Illinois
As the Illinois Department of Transportation points out, “workers are not the only ones injured or killed by work zone crashes.” In Illinois over a four year period, only 2.32% of work zone accident deaths involved work zone construction workers. The other 97.68% of work zone fatalities were drivers or passengers of a motor vehicle.
High Risk of Fatal Truck Crash in Work Zone
A heavy vehicle (think big rig, semi-truck, 18-wheeler, tractor trailer) is especially vulnerable to being involved in a fatal roadway work zone crash. In 2019, almost half (48%) of the fatal work zone crashes in the State of Illinois involved a heavy vehicle.
For more on truck crashes, read:
- Danger of More Fatal Truck Crashes Caused by New 2020 Hours-Of-Service Rules
- Truck Driver Drug Use in Indiana and Illinois: High Risk of a Fatal Truck Crash Caused by Impaired Trucker
- Coronavirus and Semi-Truck Crashes in Indiana and Illinois: Deadly Truck Crashes During COVID-19 Quarantines
- Commercial Truck Crashes: FMCSA’s New Study Because of Rising Number of Fatal Semi-Truck Accidents
Drivers in Indiana and Illinois must be aware of the increased risk of a serious or deadly crash in the high number of roadway work zones across our part of the country. Construction workers must also be vigilant to the high danger they face on the job as they are vulnerable to being hit and killed in a roadway work zone.
State laws in Indiana and Illinois exist to help those who have been injured or killed in a roadway work zone accident. Accident victims and their loved ones may be able to seek damages that include medical expenses, pain and suffering, lost wages, and more. Those liable may include drivers as well as construction company employers, third party contractors, and more. Each case must be investigated on its own particular circumstances as justice is sought. Please be careful out there!
