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Fatal injuries at road work zones

April 05, 2017

April 3–7 is National Work Zone Awareness Week. From 2011 to 2015, 609 workers were killed from injuries at road work zones in the United States. These work zones include construction, maintenance, or utility work on a road, street, or highway. Workers in Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, and California incurred the most fatal injuries at road construction sites during the 5-year period.

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Chart Data

Fatal occupational injuries at road work zones by state, 2011–15
State	Number
Total	609
Alabama	17
Alaska	1
Arizona	3
Arkansas	18
California	32
Colorado	10
Connecticut	5
Delaware	-
District of Columbia	1
Florida	38
Georgia	5
Hawaii	-
Idaho	2
Illinois	21
Indiana	25
Iowa	7
Kansas	7
Kentucky	12
Louisiana	16
Maine	3
Maryland	10
Massachusetts	8
Michigan	12
Minnesota	5
Mississippi	13
Missouri	8
Montana	4
Nebraska	6
Nevada	8
New Hampshire	-
New Jersey	14
New Mexico	7
New York	17
North Carolina	22
North Dakota	6
Ohio	19
Oklahoma	16
Oregon	10
Pennsylvania	38
Rhode Island	2
South Carolina	16
South Dakota	4
Tennessee	25
Texas	67
Utah	5
Vermont	2
Virginia	13
Washington	6
West Virginia	7
Wisconsin	10
Wyoming	6
Note: Dashes indicate no data reported or data do not meet publication criteria.

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About 46 percent of these workers were killed in pedestrian vehicular incidents, which include being struck by a vehicle or mobile equipment. Workers were most frequently struck by automobiles or dump trucks. Of the 79 workers struck by an automobile, the automobile was moving forward in 72 cases. Of the 49 workers struck by a dump truck, the dump truck was backing up in 40 cases.

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Chart Data

Fatal occupational injuries at road work zones caused by pedestrian vehicle incidents, by the vehicle or mobile equipment that struck the worker, 2011–15
Vehicle or mobile equipment	Number
Total	279
Automobile	79
Dump truck	49
Pickup truck	48
Semi, tractor-trailer, tanker truck	26
SUV, sports utility vehicle	26
Passenger van	8
Delivery truck or van	5
Backhoes, trackhoes	3
Rollers, compactors - construction	3
Skid steer loaders, mini loaders	3
Street sweeping and cleaning machinery	3
All other vehicles and mobile equipment	26

These data are from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, which is part of the Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities program. A Monthly Labor Review article examined fatal occupational injuries at road construction sites over the 2003–10 period.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Fatal injuries at road work zones at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2017/fatal-injuries-at-road-work-zones.htm (visited October 06, 2024).

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