Write Up:

Safe, efficient travel for the public through work zones is important. All crews working in work zones are expected to conduct operations safely. MoDOT makes every effort to ensure this is the case and asks motorists to pay attention, slow down, move over, buckle up and drive without distractions.

MoDOT’s goal is zero fatalities in work zones. Only through continued efforts from MoDOT, the contracting industry and the driving public can that goal be accomplished. There will be continual improvement in planning, available strategies and technologies employed. It is up to MoDOT to deploy the proper tools in each of the work zones.

Based on information currently available, there have been seven fatal work zone crashes in calendar year 2020 on the state system and two fatal crashes on non-state system. The seven state system crashes all happened in the second quarter.  Three of the crashes were rear-end collisions on the interstate where traffic was slowed in the work zone.  One of those crash reports was not clear on the cause, one specifically mentioned that the driver was speeding and swerving immediately before the crash and the final one indicated that the driver was distracted and never applied their brakes. The nine fatal work zone crashes this year have resulted in a total of 11 fatalities.   Of the eight people who were known or required to wear safety devices only three were wearing them.

Poor driver behavior remains a primary factor in these 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 five-year average.