Work Zone Data

Work Zone Traffic Crash Trends and Statistics

Data on fatal traffic crashes in work zones come from the Fatality Analysis Reporting Systems from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.¹ These data represent crashes coded as occurring in a work zone from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. These data are extracted from law enforcement crash report forms, and as such are only as accurate as the data included in those reports. Estimates of injuries and total crashes occurring in work zones come from the NHTSA Crash Report Sampling System (CRSS) and the General Estimates System (GES).² Data on annual vehicular travel in the U.S. comes from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, U.S. Department of Transportation.³ Data regarding Highway and Street Construction Expenditures in the U.S. comes from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.⁴

Over the past 10 years, fatal crashes in work zones have increased from 557 in 2012 to 874 in 2021. The percent of all fatal crashes that occur in work zones has also increased slightly, from 1.8 percent in 2012 to 2.2 percent in 2021. (Source: NHTSA FARS)

Over the past 10 years, work zone fatalities have increased from 619 in 2012 to 956 in 2021. This equates to nearly three persons per day being killed in work zones in 2021. Approximately four out of every five work zone fatalities involve a driver or passenger of a vehicle. Meanwhile, estimated injuries in work zones have also increased, from 31,000 in 2012 to 42,000 in 2021. In 2021, this equates to approximately 112 injuries per day in work zones. (Source: NHTSA FARS, GES, and CRSS)

The increase in work zone fatalities and injuries over time has correlated with increased vehicular travel nationally, except in 2020 when travel dropped significantly due to the COVID pandemic (Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics). Conversely, the increase has not correlated with highway construction spending (normalized to 2012 dollars), which has remained relatively constant over the same time period (Source: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis).

Compared to fatal non-work zone crashes, fatal work zone crashes are overrepresented on urban interstates, rural interstates, and rural principal arterials and freeways/expressways. (Source: NHTSA FARS)

Rear-end collision involvement is consistently higher for fatal work zone crashes than for fatal non-work zone crashes. The overrepresentation is most apparent on rural roadways. (Source: NHTSA FARS)

Driver distraction contributes to fatal work zone crashes more often than to fatal non-work zone crashes. The overrepresentation is particularly evident on urban interstates and on all roadway types in rural areas. (Source: NHTSA FARS)

Commercial motor vehicles (large trucks with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 10,000 lbs and buses) are highly overrepresented in fatal work zone crashes as compared to fatal non-work zone crashes. In fact, commercial motor vehicles are involved in over 50 percent of fatal work zone crashes that occur on rural interstates. (Source: NHTSA FARS)

¹ Fatality Analysis Reporting System. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, D.C. Accessible at https://www.nhtsa.gov/research-data/fatality-analysis-reporting-system-fars.

² Crash Report Sampling System. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, D.C. Accessible at https://www.nhtsa.gov/crash-data-systems/crash-report-sampling-system.

³ U.S. Vehicle Miles. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, D.C. Accessible at https://www.bts.gov/content/us-vehicle-miles.

⁴ Total Construction Spending: Highway and Street in the United States. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, St. Louis, Mo. Accessible at https://alfred.stlouisfed.org/series?seid=TLHWYCONS.