Federal funds expand highway work zone safety training classes

The Associated General Contractors of America recently announced that it has received federal funds that will finance the ongoing highway work zone safety training classes for 2016; the Susan Harwood Training Grant, which amounts to $120,000, will support the programs, and the grant being given is part of the United States Department of Transportation.

All of the funds will be used only for the classes, which are specially designed as a way to prevent injuries among construction workers who are laboring on streets, highways and bridges.

Recent data from federal safety shows that between 2003 and 2010, approximately 962 workers died at road construction sites. Another survey shows that 50 percent of contractors experienced vehicle crashes into their own work zones within the last year. Sixteen percent of those crashes injured construction workers, and nine percent of those crashes killed workers.

“No amount of safety gear will protect a worker if they get hit by a speeding vehicle,” Stephen E. Sandherr, the association’s CEO, said. “The best defense from crashes is teaching crews how to set up and operate safer work zones.”

The highway work zone safety program is scheduled to start in Jan. 2016 and will be provided at six locations throughout the U.S.