Fatal accidents in nighttime vs. daytime highway construction work zones

David Arditi, Dong Eun Lee*, Gul Polat

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

75 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Introduction: Awareness about worker safety in nighttime construction has been a major concern because it is believed that nighttime construction creates hazardous work conditions. However, only a few studies provide valuable comparative information about accident characteristics of nighttime and daytime highway construction activities. Method: This study investigates fatal accidents that occurred in Illinois highway work zones in the period 1996-2001 in order to determine the safety differences between nighttime and daytime highway construction. The lighting and weather conditions were included into the study as control parameters to see their effects on the frequency of fatal accidents occurring in work zones. Results: According to this study, there is evidence that nighttime construction is more hazardous than daytime construction. The inclusion of a weather parameter into the analysis has limited effect on this finding. Impact on Industry: The study justifies establishing an efficient work zone accident reporting system and taking all necessary measures to enhance safety in nighttime work zones.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)399-405
Number of pages7
JournalJournal of Safety Research
Volume38
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2007

Funding

The funding for part of this study was provided by the Illinois Transportation Research Center (ITRC) and is gratefully acknowledged.

FundersFunder number
Illinois Transportation Research Center

    Keywords

    • Accidents
    • Nighttime construction
    • Safety

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