How to improve on saving workers' lives and limbs inside of highway construction work zones is getting some welcome, increased attention.

On July 10, a summit meeting of 125 construction, government and business organizations met in Washington D.C. and assembled a framework for a plan to improve the health and safety of road workers. In 1999, the latest year for which information is available, there were 868 deaths in construction work zones, a jump from 772 in 1998 and 693 in 1997.

"The general indifference to this kind of annual carnage has some people hopping mad," reports the Engineering News Record.

On July 24, the U.S. House highway and transit subcommittee heard testimony on how construction workers have died when motorists crashed through work zones. The intent was to measure the problem and get input from state and federal officials and labor groups.

Said Vincent Schimmoller, acting head of the Federal Highway Administration: "What if 868 teachers were killed? What if two 747s went down? There would be unbelievable outrage. But we just seem to blink" when the deaths are in work zones, he added.

Organized by the Associated General Contractors, the summit event was co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Department of Labor, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials and the ENR.

Participants formed work groups to discuss issues related to designing and improving safety within work zones, improving public awareness, enforcing speed limits in work zones, traffic management and expediting construction.

Some of the concerns and comments, according to the ENR:

• "You often see signs that you are entering a work zone and then go seven miles without seeing anyone. Do we need standards?" asked Bill Armstrong, CEO of Armstrong Construction Co., Roswell, N.M.
• "During design, consider a balance between construction and safety issues," said David E. Fosbroke, who authored a publication on building safer work zones. He noted that many workers are hit when they are placing concrete traffic zone barriers - which are supposed to protect them in the first place. "I used to be a big proponent of (concrete) barriers until I saw how long it took to put them up," he said.
• "Utility workers and electrical guys, they need help too," said Camille Villanova, a safety specialist at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

The work groups selected about 30 items on which to focus, including worker and driver training, model contract specifications for work zone safety, coordination with law enforcement, traffic control devices and personal protective equipment. The next step will be to categorize and consolidate the priorities, and then bring the items into action. The Michigan House and Senate last month adopted a bill that would make it a felony for motorists to injure or kill construction workers because of drunk or reckless driving. The state has also made available up to $500,000 in additional funding for State Police enforcement, doubled traffic fines in work zones, gradually reduced posted speed limits as vehicles approach work zones, and have tried the use of rumble strips. In Michigan from 1991-1996, there was an annual average of 5,510 crashes and 2,029 injuries in work zones. From 1997-1999, there was an annual average of 6,992 crashes and 2,371 injuries, representing a 27-percent increase in crashes and a 17-percent increase in injuries. The great majority of those killed and injured are the motorists themselves.