National Work Zone Safety Awareness Week Fact Sheet

  • Over the last 5 years the number of persons killed in motor vehicle crashes in work zones has gone from a high of 828 in 1994 to a low of 693 in 1997, for an average of 760 fatalities per year.
  • In 1998, 772 fatalities resulted from motor vehicle crashes in work zones of which 222 resulted from large truck crashes.
  • On average from 1994 to 1998, 16% of the fatalities resulting from crashes in work zones were non-motorists (pedestrians and bicyclists).
  • Approximately 39,000 people were injured as a result of motor vehicle crashes in work zones.
  • Approximately 3,000 people were injured in large truck work zone crashes in 1998.
  • In 1998, more than half of all work zone crashes occurred during the day, while about three-quarters of fatal large truck work zone crashes occurred during the day.
  • Almost three times as many work zone crashes occurred on weekdays compared to weekends.
  • Fatal work zone crashes, regardless of whether a large truck was involved or not, occurred most often in the summer and the fall.
  • The percentage of fatal work zone crashes occurring on urban interstates was more than twice the percentage of all fatal crashes occurring on urban intersections (14% compared to 6%).
  • For fatal large truck crashes, the percentage of work zone crashes occurring on urban Interstates was twice as high compared to all fatal truck crashes (20% vs. 10%).
  • The majority of fatal work zone crashes for all vehicles and large trucks occurred on roads with speed limits of 55 miles per hour or greater (59% and 71%, respectively).
Work Zone Fatalities for the Past 10 Years
Year Number of Fatalities
1989 782
1990 786
1991 680
1992 647
1993 762
1994 833
1995 771
1996 719
1997 658
1998 772

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Co-sponsored by the partnership of the U.S. Department of Transportation,the Federal Highway Administration, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, and the American Traffic Safety Services Association

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