Janet Groncki spent years working on Maryland’s highways. During that time, she had plenty of close encounters.
“I can remember the first time I worked on 270. I jumped up into the arms of the girl I was working with, because the tractor trailer was this close to me,” she gestures with her hands to show how a truck came within a foot of her. “I mean, you're in a work zone, and he was flying.”
Groncki’s story isn’t unique. She’s no longer on the road but works as CEO of Sunrise Safety Solutions, Inc. a company that specializes in construction safety equipment.
“We’ve had people hit,” she said. “But thankfully no one died.”
State leaders and industry experts worry about more fatal crashes, like the one that killed six road workers on March 22 on I-695, as traffic reaches levels close to those seen in 2019. There are also more construction projects on the roads thanks to the federal infrastructure bill.
The Associated General Contractors of America and software company HCSS released a national and state survey last month. In the national survey, more than half of the 732 respondents reported that in the last year there was at least one crash in a highway work zone that they managed. A quarter of those respondents reported five or more crashes.
In the Maryland survey, 42% of the 24 respondents said there had been at least five vehicle crashes in work zones they manage.
The U.S. Department of Transportation reported a 10.7% increase in work zone fatalities from 2020 through 2021, the last year with complete data.
Speed, distracted driving, lack of police enforcement and even the pandemic all play a part in that increase.
As roads emptied out during the pandemic, drivers went faster and experts say they haven’t slowed back down. More remote work means drivers are now out and about at all hours of the day. Brian Turmail with the Associated General Contractors of America points out that crews still work with a traditional morning and afternoon rush hour in mind.
“Higher traffic means you're more likely to hit a traffic jam at noon, when you're out doing errands in the middle of your day and then that leads to some drivers who are more likely to be frustrated and do unsafe things like speeding in the work zone,” said Turmail.
On March 22nd, six road workers were killed on I-695 after a motorist lost control of a vehicle and entered a work zone. It was one of the deadliest incidents for workers since the 1980s. Two drivers have been indicted for manslaughter - one was driving over twice the legal limit and the other was impaired, according to authorities. Since then, state leaders said at a recent meeting that there have been 145 work zone crashes in Maryland alone.
Lt. David Ryan of the Maryland State Troopers was one of the first on the scene in March.
“The family knows they had somebody working. They know dad went to work somewhere on the beltway, they hear there's a terrible accident on the beltway. They can't get ahold of their father, mother, whomever family member it is,” said Ryan. “It's really difficult for the first responders in a lot of ways… it's something to hear phones ringing of people that are no longer with us.”
Brian Turmail with the Associated General Contractors suggests higher penalties for speeding in a work zone. Right now in Maryland it’s $40. He points to states like Oklahoma that require a one hour drivers-ed course on work zone safety before new drivers can get a license– that is something that could be done everywhere, he says.
There is even technology from the University of Memphis that uses electronic barriers to notify workers if a car has entered the safety zone by sending an alert to a smart device. “We're all wearing a watch that tells us when you know, our next appointment is and when someone's texting us, why can't it tell us when the car is about to hit them?” he asked, while noting that no state has invested in the technology for highway safety purposes.
Jane Terry, Vice President of Government Affairs with the National Safety Council, pointed out that this country doesn’t use technology widely available elsewhere– like speed limiters on cars that prevent drivers from exceeding certain unsafe speeds. Those are available on many European automobiles.
The March deaths inspired Maryland Governor Wes Moore’s administration to launch the Work Zone Safety Work Group. It’s composed of road workers, transportation engineers and other professionals. They had their inaugural meeting this month with Lt. Governor Aruna Miller at the helm.
“This issue has gone unaddressed for far too long, and with devastating consequences,” said Miller.
All options are on the table: from educational campaigns, new technologies or policy updates. It hopes to have recommendations by mid-November.
But they already have these recommendations for Maryland drivers: slow down and put away your phone.
