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 in calendar year 2020, there have been 14 fatal work zone crashes on the state system resulting in 16 fatalities and three fatal crashes on non-state system resulting in five fatalities.  Of the 14 state system crashes, 10 occurred on the interstate, including four rear-end, three run-off-road, two pedestrian and one wrong way.  Only five of the 14 crashes were impacted in any way by the work zone; all were on the interstate, including the four rear-end and one of the run-off-road. 

Five of the 14 state system crashes occurred in the third quarter resulting in six fatalities.  All five crashes occurred on the interstate, four of them happened at night, but only one occurred with workers present.  Of the four people who were known or required to wear safety devices, only one was 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.