Enhancing Highway Work Zone Safety and Mobility: Risk Factors From Drivers’ Perspective

Road crashes in highway work zones continue to be a persistent issue. When a driver passes through a highway work zone, their risk of being involved in an incident is higher. Highway work zone risks are usually assessed by examining historical crash data to identify the factors contributing to crashes in these areas. This study explored a first-hand view of possible risk factors at highway work zones from the drivers’ perspective. A quantitative approach employing questionnaire distribution was conducted to achieve this study’s goal. The relative importance index (RII) was performed to provide drivers insight into the riskiest contributing factors to highway work zone crashes. The analysis revealed that inefficient nighttime delineation with the highest RII score of 0.914, is considered the riskiest contributing factor in highway work zone crashes perceived by drivers that need further scoured. This study’s findings may help decision-makers optimize safer highway work zone configurations by incorporating drivers’ risk perceptions. Raising awareness of highway work zone risks will promote safer driving practices and enhance traffic mobility, contributing to more sustainable highway work zone management.