April 29, 2002—Deaths and injuries among highway workers and others in construction work zones on US highways represent a growing problem, according to the Federal Highway Administration (FHA). In 2000, there were an estimated 1,093 fatalities in work zones around the country. Monday, April 8, 2002 marked the beginning of the third annual National Highway Work Zone Safety Week which honors those who have lost their lives in highway work zones and calls for increased awareness of safe driving in roadway work areas.
The Work Zone Safety Awareness Week Program began in December 1999 when a joint cooperative effort was formed to highlight the dangers that both workers and motorists face within highway work zones. That effort includes OSHA, the Federal Highway Administration, the American Traffic Safety Services Association, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, the Association of General Contractors, the American Road and Transportation Builders, and more than twenty other groups.
Work zone statistics, a fact sheet on the National Highway Work Zone Safety Week, and additional materials on the national work zone safety campaign can be accessed from the FHA.
