Every year, the Federal Highway Administration marks one week in April as National Work Zone Awareness Week. This year, New York construction accident lawyers, construction safety groups and transportation officials are dedicating April 19th through April 23rd to highway construction worker safety.
In 2005, more than 1,000 people were killed in highway work zones across the country. The following year, there were seven fatalities and 139 injuries in highway work zone accidents in New York State alone. Last year, 12 people died in 511 accidents in construction zones in New York State. Flush with federal stimulus package funds, several states have initiated highway and road construction and repair projects. There will be hundreds of active work zones across the country. In New York State, there will be dozens of active work zones along the Thruway.
Construction workers in these zones will face a number of risks as they work to enhance our roadways.
- There may be accidents involving construction equipment.
- Construction workers may be at risk of being run over by construction vehicles, like tractors and forklifts.
- There may be electrocutions, and electrical accidents involving power tools.
- The biggest risk however, may come from motorists speeding down the highway with no thought for the safety of the men in hard hats. It’s these accidents that the New York State Department of Transportation is seeking to minimize, as it marks National Work Zone Awareness Week.
As New York construction accident attorneys, we would advise motorists in New York to look out for construction work zones as they drive down highways.
- Contractors will post warnings and signs informing you of a work zone ahead. Pay attention to these.
- Drop speeds when you near a work zone. Look for signs informing you of the lowered speed limit.
- Look out for workers and construction equipment at the site.
At the end of the day, it’s important to remember that the man in a hard hat in a work zone is not part of the equipment, but a human being who wants to get home to his family at the end of the day.
The New York construction accident lawyers at Godosky and Gentile represent workers injured in crane accidents, scaffolding accidents, trench collapses, electrical accidents, forklift accidents and other construction accidents in the New York City area, and around the state of New York.