AASHTO | PSA | National Work Zone Awareness Week

Each year in April, National Work Zone Awareness Week (NWZAW) is held to bring national attention to motorist and worker safety and mobility issues in work zones. Beginning in late 1999, FHWA has worked with the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and the American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA) to coordinate and sponsor the event. Since then other transportation partners have joined the effort to support NWZAW. In addition to a National event conducted each year, many States host their own NWZAW events.

In 2008, 720 fatalities resulted from motor vehicle crashes in work zones. This is a 13 percent decrease from 2007 (831 fatalities), 28 percent decrease from 2006 (1,004 fatalities), and a 32 percent decrease from 2005 (1,058 fatalities). (National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse Work Zone Fatalities, http://www.workzonesafety.org/crash_data/, based on information from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).)

In 2007 there were 105 fatal occupational injuries at road construction sites. This is a 24 percent decrease from 2006 (139 fatal occupational injuries) and a 36 percent decrease from 2005 (165 fatal occupational injuries). (U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, in cooperation with State, New York City, District of Columbia, and Federal agencies, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, http://www.workzonesafety.org/files/documents/crash_data/worker_fatalities_20... (PDF 31KB), 2008)

More than 41,000 people were injured in 2003 as a result of motor vehicle crashes in work zones. This has grown from 36,000 in 1996, an increase of 14 percent. (U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, General Estimates System. Washington D.C., 2002.)

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• work zone safety
• aaashto
• transportation
• nwzaw
• fatalities
• cone
• hard hat
• injjuries
• crash
• car crash
• highway
• ATSSA