Thirty-eight percent of highway contractors had motor vehicles crash into their construction work zones during the past year, according to the results of a new highway work-zone study conducted by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials added that the study found work-zone crashes are more likely to kill vehicle operators and passengers than construction workers.
“Any time your jobsite is just a few feet away from fast-moving traffic, danger is never far away,” said Mike Hoover, chair of the association’s national highway and transportation division and executive vice president of Tempe, Ariz.-based Sundt Construction. “When you see construction signs and orange barrels, take your foot off the gas, put the phone down and keep your eyes on the road.”