Much Work to be Done to Make Road Construction Safe

The Bureau of Labor Statistics' Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program announced that there were 91 total fatalities in private sector, state and local government roadwork throughout the nation.

Each year, nearly one in ten construction workers on New Jersey highway construction projects are injured on the job. According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 87,400 worker injuries at job sites -- including 600 on highway, street and bridge construction projects -- in New Jersey in 2009 (the most recent numbers available).

On August 25, the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program announced that there were 91 total fatalities in private sector, state and local government roadwork throughout the nation. Seventy-one percent of the fatalities in 2010 were a result of transportation accidents, which typically involve construction workers killed in motor vehicle accidents on the job site, workers in the work zone struck by traffic, workers struck by moving equipment in the work zone, and fatal injuries to operators or riders due to rollovers of construction equipment.

The Associated General Contractors of New Jersey says it is working diligently with member companies and labor partners to ensure workers on their job sites get proper safety training. These safety training programs have been effective in helping to educate thousands of workers per year in ways they can stay safe on the job.

Still, many of these injuries and fatalities occur on job sites because of outside forces -- drivers who aren't paying full attention to driving.

(More on New Jersey road construction safety . . . )

 

 

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