Road Work Zone Safety Problem and Associated Risk Factors in Bangladesh: An Augmented Analysis Integrating Crash and Observational Data

Road work zone is an inevitable traffic mobility impediment. It poses a challenge to traffic operation
and management and, thus, creates potential safety hazards for road users. The safety of a road work
zone demands special attention, as unanticipated traffic situations may attune unexpected crash
phenomena. Therefore, appropriate and pellucid information and guidance to road users is a
fundamental requirement in a work zone. Bangladesh, however, needs to improve these provisions
and standard safety measures. It is essential to understand the current best practices, characteristics,
and probable causes of work zone crashes to develop standards for the country. The study aims to
evaluate the features of crashes that took place at the road work zones in Bangladesh during 1998-
2015 by analyzing the crash records maintained by Bangladesh Police. The characteristics analysis of
crashes revealed that most of the crashes occurred were fatal in nature. Moreover, overspeed and
reckless driving were responsible for major proportion of crashes at work zones. Furthermore, in-
depth field investigations of the existing work zones have been conducted to depict the real traffic
safety scenario of the work zones. Absence of advance warning signs, safety barriers, pedestrian
facilities, and negligence of worker safety issues were found to be the common safety deficiencies
during field investigations. The findings of this study will provide adequate guidelines regarding
effective mitigation of those safety deficiencies, and ensuring proper safety at the road work zones in
Bangladesh.