According to AGC’s annual Road Work Zone Safety Survey, which found many businesses believe the risks are increasing.
The survey found that 60 percent of highway contractors reported at least one accident involving a moving vehicle in an active work zone in the past year, while nearly a third reported five or more accidents.
More than half said work zone crashes caused project delays because of accidents, and more than half also said highway work zone crashes pose a greater risk today than they did a year ago. Contractors also reported growing concern about nighttime work zones, where visibility and driver behavior can create additional risks.
“Unfortunately, many motorists continue to drive distracted, under the influence or speed through work zones,” said Brian Turmail, AGC’s vice president of industry partnerships and image.
More than 90% of respondents identified distracted drivers as the main contributors to accidents and work zone trespasses, while speeding and mobile phone use were also among the top concerns.
Contractors also expressed frustration with the application. Nearly 40 percent said penalties for moving violations in work zones should be more severe, while only 29 percent said current enforcement efforts help deter unsafe driving behaviors in work zones.
Macrina Wilkins, AGC’s director of market information, said one of the most worrying findings was that contractors were increasingly perceiving work zones as increasingly dangerous, despite a modest improvement in fatality rates.
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“We’re not necessarily decreasing the risk,” he said during AGC’s discussion of the survey results.
While many respondents called for stronger enforcement, contractors also pointed to mitigation tools already being deployed in the field. Nearly half said that truck-mounted attenuators or TMAs (shock-absorbing safety devices mounted on work vehicles) had improved safety performance in active work zones.
Beyond field-level responses, AGC officials argued that the findings also point to broader policy deficiencies.
AGC officials said the findings support stronger work zone protections as lawmakers debate the next federal surface transportation package, including more detailed safety data collection and a greater emphasis on work zone planning.
The recommendations call for requiring states to track work zone injuries and fatalities, directing states to address work zone safety within highway safety programs, and encouraging greater use of automated enforcement technologies in active work zones. The organization also called for greater investment in security research and pilot programs with emerging technology.
The organization also went beyond calls for broad awareness campaigns, instead advocating for specific funding and legislative proposals.
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AGC has asked states to allocate 10% of Road Safety Improvement Program funding to work zone safety if injury and fatality trends worsen over a two-year period. AGC also stood out Safe Roads for Those Who Serve Act sponsored by Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), which would strengthen work zone safety data collection and authorize $10 million over five years for public awareness campaigns.
AGC argued that responsibility for work zone protections often lies with construction companies rather than the recipients of the funding. The organization also said that current project delivery systems can create challenges for contractors who invest heavily in security measures because bidders who prioritize those investments may face cost disadvantages.
“There are no specific measures for work zone safety,” Turmail said in response to a question about federal funding, adding that safety should not become a choice “between miles and lives.”
This concern was expressed in night work areas, where a third of contractors said accidents had become more frequent in the past year. Respondents again identified distracted driving as the leading factor, followed by speeding and impaired driving.
Heather Agee, director of strategy at IBC Traffic in Kansas City, Missouri, shared a company example, recounting a past incident at the work zone in which a drunk driver hit one of the company’s trucks hard enough to flip it into live traffic.
“If there was anyone in that truck, they would have died completely,” an IBC team member said in a video shown during the presentation.
Agee said contractors are increasingly recognizing the mental health impacts of traumatic incidents in the work zone and are beginning to expand support resources for workers exposed to them.
“People are not coming home to their families, and that is unacceptable,” he said.
