Write Up:

Safe and efficient travel for the public through work zones is crucial, which is why crews in work zones are expected to conduct operations safely. MoDOT makes every effort to inform the public to pay attention, slow down, move over, buckle up and drive without distractions to increase the safety of workers and travelers. MoDOT’s goal is zero fatalities in work zones, and only through continued efforts from MoDOT, the contracting industry and the driving public can that goal be accomplished. Continual improvement in planning, strategies and technologies are employed, and it’s up to MoDOT staff to deploy the proper tools in all work zones. 

For the fourth quarter of 2022, there were five on-system work zone fatality crashes, resulting in five fatalities.  Contributing factors to these crashes are similar to all crashes statewide.  Two of the crashes involved pedestrians, one of these was a worker within the work zone.  Inattention was a likely contributing factor in four of these crashes, and two of the fatalities were unbuckled.  All five crashes occurred at night.  There were no work zone fatality crashes on the local system in the fourth quarter of 2022.  

To make progress toward the goal of zero fatalities in work zones, an Internal Review is conducted on each fatal crash to determine if the crash qualifies as a true work zone fatality. These numbers are included in the overall totals for each road classification (state and local).

Poor driver behavior remains a primary factor in fatal crashes, which proves difficult for MoDOT to control.  Community outreach and public awareness campaigns, such as Buckle Up Phone Down, are very helpful, but ultimately MoDOT is dependent upon the driving public to make good choices when driving in work zones. The challenges for MoDOT remain many, with changing driver behaviors at the top.

Purpose of Measure:

This measure tracks the number of traffic-related and non-traffic-related fatalities, injuries and overall crashes occurring in work zones on state-owned and off-system roadways.

Measurement and Data Collection:

Missouri law enforcement agencies submit a vehicle accident report form to the Missouri State Highway Patrol to be entered into a statewide traffic crash database. The database automatically updates MoDOT’s crash database system, which is part of the Transportation Management System. MoDOT staff query and analyze this data to identify work zone related crash statistics. Missouri State Highway Patrol prioritizes entry of the crash reports by fatality, serious injury and property damage only. 

The target for this measure is updated quarterly. This target is established by projecting a 10% improvement over a 5-year average.