Investigation of Highway Work Zone Crashes: What We Know and What We Don't Know

Abstract

Emphasis on work zone safety and improving the identification of work zone problems has been increased by recent legislation and federal programs. There is a critical need for better data related to highway work zone safety. Results are presented of an investigation to (a) determine what is known about the magnitude of highway work zone crashes, (b) examine characteristics of highway work zone crashes using the Highway Safety Information System, (c) investigate how work zone accidents are reported on police accident report forms and within state accident report systems, (d) identify critical voids in the knowledge of the relative safety of work zones, and (e) examine possible ways to address unfulfilled information needs related to work zone safety. Deficiencies of data reporting practices and issues of data needs pertaining to work zone safety are discussed. Recommendations to improve data collection and fulfill information needs are presented, including suggested data elements to be added to police accident report forms.

Identifying the Factors Contributing to Injury Severity in Work Zone Rear-End Crashes

“…In terms of work zone rear-end crashes, a plethora of literature report the observation of an increased rate of rear-end crashes in work zones compared to nonwork zones [5][6][7][8][9]. Qi et al investigated rear-end crashes in the work zones and utilized the ordered probit model.…”

“…For instance, it has been showed that rear-end collisions constitute 30% of all injuries and 29.7% of all property damage in the USA [4]. Additionally, it is also argued that rear-end crashes mostly occur on highway work zones rather than nonwork zones [5][6][7][8][9].…”

Effects of In-Vehicle Messaging on Mental Workload During Driving through Work Zones

“…The work zone environment is volatile, often requiring abrupt lane changes and braking. Drivers may not maintain adequate situation awareness to notice these traffic changes in a work zone, leading to heightened risk of crashes (Wang, Hughes, Council, & Paniati, 1996). Typical work zone signs communicating risks or speed limits are not very effective in reducing speeds (Fontaine, Schrock, & Ullman, 2002).…”

Rear‐end crash potential estimation in the work zone merging areas

“…However, the increased traffic conflicts cause higher rear‐end crash potential. Many past studies reported that the rates and frequency of rear‐end crashes in work zones are higher than those in non‐work zones . As deemed by Srinivasan et al .…”