Are highway construction zones death traps?
Some drivers don’t see a highway construction zone because they “see red” when they encounter one. Anger may be a natural response to delays on the highway. But wise drivers go on red alert at the sight of an orange traffic cone. Construction zones kill more frequently than drivers realize. The design and set up of a highway construction zone is complicated. There are plenty of chances for error in the planning that it takes to get drivers safely though them. The zones are a potential death trap if construction company managers and supervisors make mistakes in that planning. In 2004, the Federal Highway Administration reported that 1,000 people across the U.S. were killed in construction zones, prompting the federal agency to call for changes in the way the zones are managed. But the death rate remains high.
