Skip to main content

Innovation to drive US work zone death cuts

Innovation must drive new strategies to reduce the near 600 deaths and 40,000 injuries that occur annually in US roadway construction zones, according to a leading American highway industry association figure. Speaking during the American Road & Transportation Builders Association’s (ARTBA) National Work Zone Awareness Week (NWZAW) Brad Sant, ARTBA’s top safety expert, said: “Just last week, ARTBA renewed its innovative alliance with the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) and industry partne
April 25, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
Workzones on highway projects present major safety risks to on-site personnel according to ARTBA.
Innovation must drive new strategies to reduce the near 600 deaths and 40,000 injuries that occur annually in US roadway construction zones, according to a leading American highway industry association figure.

Speaking during the American Road & Transportation Builders Association’s (ARTBA) National Work Zone Awareness Week (NWZAW) Brad Sant, ARTBA’s top safety expert, said: “Just last week, ARTBA renewed its innovative alliance with the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) and industry partners. The alliance is unique in that it includes multiple federal agencies, organised labour, representation from state agencies and employer associations—all working together to ensure our workplaces are safer for all involved.”

The 2012 NWZAW, running until April 27, 2012, kicked-off with an April 23 national news conference at a Route 141 construction zone in St. Louis.  The event, hosted by the 2699 Missouri Department of Transportation, aimed to publicly highlight the safety risks for motorists and workers associated with driving through these sites. 

Sant, ARTBA’s senior vice president of safety and education, also highlighted a new course, ‘Preventing Runovers and Backovers’, developed in partnership with OSHA and the 5159 National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), as a first-of-its-kind programme to address the problem of ‘struck-by’ incidents in roadway construction. 

“For over a decade the industry has identified runovers and backovers as the primary safety concern for our workers,” said Sant. “Now, with backing from OSHA and NIOSH, ARTBA is providing the industry with the first, comprehensive course to address the problem, and we are giving away this training and material for free.”

Related Content

  • IRF Washington announces key events programme
    November 4, 2013
    The Road Scholar Programme identifies promising international students currently enrolled in graduate programs at IRF Member Universities in the United States. The Road Scholar helps the IRF’s Educational Program (IREF) accomplish its mission to apply current transportation technology and management techniques to improve infrastructures around the world.
  • ARTBA: Up to 9,600 jobs at risk if Pennsylvania cuts transport works
    August 1, 2013
    Cutting highway and bridge work in the US state of Pennsylvania by 25% in any given year, and then sustaining it in future years, would cost the state US$1.25 billion in lost economic activity over a five-year period and put as many as 9,600 jobs permanently at risk, according to the American Road & Transportation Builders Association’s (ARTBA) chief economist. Dr. Alison Premo Black’s assessment of the impact of the potential impact of state-wide transport works cuts was part of her testimony to the Pennsy
  • Tackling India’s road safety will reduce crash rate
    February 19, 2013
    India’s road safety record is the world’s worst but there are plans to tackle the problems. Patrick Smith reports from New Delhi. A speeded up video of a short section of road in the Indian capital Delhi was followed by a question. “How many infringements did you count in that 25-second clip on a typical day in Delhi,” asked Dr Rohit Baluja, a question that brought understandable silence. It equated to hundreds of millions of infringements each year, said Dr Baluja, president, Institute of Road Traffic Educ
  • Safety first at IRF Caribbean Regional Congress in Jamaica
    July 7, 2015
    The wealth of experiences and ideas shared during the recent 4th IRF Caribbean Regional Congress underscored the International Road Federation’s value in shaping policy contributions to global transportation challenges ranging from resilient infrastructure to road safety. The regional congress coincided with the start of the 3rd United Nations Global Road Safety Week, an initiative aimed at fostering discussion and awareness-raising in more than 100 countries. The event was run by the IRF Washington office