Record Work Zone Fatalities Recorded in 2001

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) this week released statistics showing there were 1,079 people killed in work-zone-related vehicle wrecks in the year 2001 – a record.
“We must redouble our efforts not only to design the safest possible work zones, but also to get the word across to drivers that it is in their power to stop most of these wrecks. Drivers and passengers, by a factor of more than four to one, are the people getting killed in work zones,” said AASHTO Executive Director John Horsley.
State transportation departments and other road-construction agencies have in recent years launched extensive work-zone safety campaigns, ranging from public-service announcements to cooperative work with police agencies to crack down on people who speed in construction zones. Agencies also are reviewing the design of work areas and increasing work at hours when traffic is relatively light or totally closing roads, following ample public advisories, to allow work to be carried out without the danger of traffic.
AASHTO is the joint sponsor of a yearly observance in April, National Work Zone Awareness Week, with the Federal Highway Administration and the American Traffic Safety Services Association.