Statistics

In 2015, nearly 770 people, including workers and roadway users, died as a result of crashes in roadway work zones. These accidents account for about 2 percent of all roadway fatalities each year.

The rate of accident fatalities is higher for work zones than it is for non-work zones. In fact, reducing the number of fatalities from work zone-related accidents to the same level as those from non-work zone-related accidents could save nearly 170 lives each year.

A 1999 New York State study determined that 43 percent of worker deaths and 22 percent of worker injuries resulted from accidents with vehicles passing through the state's roadway work zones.

The remaining 57 percent of worker deaths and 78 percent of worker injuries cited in the study resulted from construction accidents occurring within the work space. Statistics related to these accidents provide a sense of the hazards present in the work space of a roadway work zone:

• Workers run over or backed over while on foot made up 48 percent of on-the-job roadway worker deaths in 2015. Most often, the vehicle involved in this type of accident is a dump truck.
• Workers caught in between vehicles or other moving equipment made up 14 percent of on-the-job roadway worker deaths in 2015.
• Workers caught in between or struck by construction equipment or objects made up another 14 percent of on-the-job roadway worker deaths in 2015.

To learn more about Roadway Work Zones visit our Worker Safety in Roadway Work Zones Online Training web page.