Each day, our roadside workers put themselves in potentially dangerous situations to make our roads and communities better. It’s critically important they stay safe while doing their important work. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) reminds motorists of the importance of safe, responsible driving – especially in work zones as the 2024 construction season gets underway. In Wisconsin, work zones include highway construction and rolling maintenance operations as well as emergency response, municipal projects and utility work along local roads. Every year there are typically more than 300 state highway and bridge improvement projects in Wisconsin.
Preliminary data shows more than 2,100 crashes were recorded in Wisconsin work zones in 2023, resulting in 9 deaths and more than 700 injuries.
- From 2019 to 2023, Wisconsin work zones saw more than 10,600 crashes causing 64 deaths and more than 3,800 injuries.
- Speeding, tailgating, and distracted driving are listed as common factors in a majority of crashes.
Cell phone use is one of the most common factors in distracted driving crashes. Wisconsin law prohibits texting while driving on any road. State law also prohibits the use of a hand-held mobile device in work zones and in areas surrounding emergency response vehicles with flashing lights.
Drivers and passengers make up the vast majority of those injured or killed in a work zone crash, but workers remain at risk as well. Since 2019, there have been five worker deaths in work zones. An incident from 2022 involved a 25-year-old utility worker who was struck and killed while unloading equipment on the side of a road in Sauk County. Another incident in 2021 took the life of a 57-year-old Clark County highway worker, and another worker was injured, after being struck by a vehicle while removing a fallen tree during a storm.
How can people help?
- Drive safely. Be courteous, avoid distractions, and obey posted speed limits.
- Leave the phone alone. Texting while driving is illegal statewide and talking on a hand-held mobile device is illegal in work zones.
- Move over, or slow down, when you see workers and vehicles with flashing lights along the highway. Wisconsin's Move Over Law applies to maintenance operations as well as emergency response units.
- Buckle Up, Phone Down.
Let’s be safe on the roadways and have a great summer!