You may feel annoyed when you encounter road construction in Florida, but these work zones are often more than a nuisance. These construction zones create numerous crash hazards and are the sites of thousands of car crashes each year. Many of these construction zone crashes result in at least one injury or fatality.
Per the Florida Department of Transportation, work zone road deaths account for 3% of all traffic fatalities and 2% of all serious injuries suffered in car wrecks.
Florida work zone crash statistics
A study of work zone crash data from between 2015 and 2019 revealed how often Florida residents and visitors are dying or suffering injuries in crashes in work zones. The study revealed that more than 50,000 work zone crashes took place in Florida within this four-year span. It also showed that those crashes produced more than 2,400 serious injuries and 380 road deaths.
Florida work zone crash hazards
Why do work zones pose such a threat to you and everyone else traveling through them? Some of the hazards associated with road construction have to do with the actual construction. Such hazards might include loose gravel, unfamiliar or unclear detours, or vehicles or flaggers obstructing the roadway.
Other work zone crash hazards result from other drivers behaving negligently when navigating them. Drivers who speed or drive while distracted enhance work zone dangers. These are the two most common dangerous driving behaviors seen in these areas.
Florida authorities assert that they are ramping up their enforcement in work zones to lower the chances of you or anyone else experiencing an injury or fatality in a work zone wreck.
