The latest federal data presents a sobering “good news, bad news” reality for the American workforce. While overall workplace deaths trended downward at the end of 2024, working in highway work zones has become significantly more dangerous for Laborers. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, 5,070 total workers died on the job in 2024—a four percent decrease from the previous year. However, deaths in highway construction work zones jumped from 48 in 2023 to 61 in 2024, representing a staggering 27 percent increase.
This spike isn’t an anomaly, but part of a decade-long crisis. From 2013 to 2023, there was a 31 percent increase in fatal construction work zone crashes. The rise in fatalities is fueled by an unfortunate storm of hazardous circumstances. By merging driver behavior with structural vulnerabilities, we can see a clearer picture of why these work zones have become so lethal.
Transportation incidents remain a leading cause of workplace deaths, accounting for over one-third of all fatalities. For LIUNA members, this means “struck-by” incidents, equipment runovers, backovers and high-speed vehicle intrusions. However, while these fatalities have several causes, driver error sits at the center of the issue, accounting for over 90 percent of fatal work zone crashes. Driver error can look like speeding, distracted driving or impaired driving.
Beyond human behavior, the physical layout of work zones often increases the likelihood of high-speed intrusions. Crews frequently work mere feet away from vehicles traveling at high speeds, often without adequate positive protection like concrete barriers or trailer-mounted attenuators. When higher traffic volumes and complex patterns—such as narrow lanes and sudden stops—overwhelm even attentive drivers, there is zero margin for error if a vehicle veers off course. Furthermore, a critical lack of federal safety inspectors has weakened jobsite oversight, leaving workers to face these complex environments with less institutional protection.
The LHSFNA is calling for a shift away from “business as usual” to address these preventable tragedies. One primary solution is mandating the use of physical barriers within bid specifications. In a “low-bid” environment, safety is often treated as a variable expense that contractors feel pressured to trim. By making positive protection a non-negotiable cost of doing business, safety becomes integrated into the process rather than treated as an afterthought. Additionally, every jobsite should implement Internal Traffic Control Plans (ITCPs) to coordinate the movement of heavy equipment and workers, a strategy that has been shown to reduce “struck-by” incidents while simultaneously increasing production.
Stronger oversight and public accountability are also essential. This includes more “boots on the ground” for OSHA and DOT inspections, as well as the adoption of automated speed enforcement by state DOTs. While the data is troubling, it underscores the need for strong safety standards, peer-to-peer hazard recognition and the empowerment of workers to speak up without fear of retaliation.
The recent spike in work zone fatalities is not an inevitability, it is a failure of policy and public awareness. We have the playbook and controls to prevent these incidents. It’s now a matter of will to fund and deploy these controls and protect our workers. Ultimately, every cone and barrier represents a human life; behind every statistic is a worker who deserved to go home at the end of their shift.
[Travis Parsons]
