Jersey Shore Personal Injury and Employment Specialists

The link between road construction and car wrecks

On Behalf of | Jul 28, 2019 | Car Accidents |

Road construction is virtually impossible to avoid when you make your way across New Jersey by car, but it may surprise you to know just how many automobile crashes take place in the nation’s work zones. At Escandon, Fernicola, Anderson, Covelli & McPherson, we recognize that, while, nationally, road fatalities are decreasing, the number of people dying in car wrecks in the nation’s road construction zones each year is on the rise.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration, the number of people losing their lives in car wrecks occurring in areas where road construction is present rose 3% between 2016 and 2017. However, the number of road deaths that occurred outside of construction zones actually decreased by 1.5% during the timespan, showing a need for enhanced safety in these areas.

Just what is it about traveling in construction zones that makes doing so so hazardous? Some of the problem likely stems from people simply not preparing themselves for traffic pattern changes, other motorists stopping suddenly in front of them and so on. In other cases, though, work zone car crashes can result from unclear signage, equipment or trucks blocking a driver’s view, and similar circumstances.

Furthermore, driving behaviors that are dangerous anywhere, such as speeding, can prove to be even more of a danger when the person speeding is also working his or her way through road construction. In 2017, for example, more than 200 people died in work zone crashes where speed was a contributing factor. You can find out more about car wrecks on our webpage.