Orange cones wave a red flag

Perhaps if signs along the highway read “Death Trap Ahead,” rather than “Construction Zone,” motorists might pay better attention.

Fatality statistics show that construction zones are among the most dangerous sections of roadway, for highway workers and, even more so, for motorists. And risks are going up as federal spending for highway construction grows and more roads are torn up.

Surprisingly, an estimated 90% of construction-zone deaths involve motorists rather than construction workers. In 2004, 1,068 people -- drivers and construction workers -- died in highway work zones, up from a recent low of 693 in 1997, notes Brad Sant, vice president for safety at the American Road & Transportation Builders Assn.

The federal government has increased highway construction funding since the late 1990s, most of which is targeted at improving existing roads rather than building new roads through green fields. It means more and more work zones are being created in every state.

Often these work zones aren’t temporary nuisances, but long-term choke points that lack adequate room, eliminate shoulders and subject motorists to narrow lanes set off with high concrete barriers.

About 100 to 125 construction workers die each year in these zones, though only 45% of those deaths result from being hit by a vehicle. Half of the deaths are blamed on workers hit by construction vehicles. “It prompts the question, why are you running over your own people?” Sant said.

The 1,000 or so motorists killed each year in construction zones represent about 2% of all fatal accidents in the nation. Most experts agree that a disproportionate number of highway deaths occur in these construction zones and that much could be done to reduce the deaths.

The government is attempting to educate the public of the dangers. But much more needs to be done to improve the inherent safety of work zones.

The standards for designing these work zones are largely laid out in federally authorized manuals that dictate the geometric design of roads and requirements for traffic control devices, such as lane stripes. Such standards permit any number of unsafe conditions in work zones, such as the lack of shoulders, reduced median separation and detours that subject drivers to unexpected curves.

The designs leave little margin for safety, according to the American Truckers Assn.

“Definitely, we do have some concerns, and they relate to our size and the constricted space on the road,” said association spokesman Mike Russell. “There is no room for evasive action or error.”

Adding shoulders and curves with a larger radius would “go a long way to reducing crashes,” Russell said. He adds that “inconsistent designs,” particularly in signs warning of work zones, exist across the country.

Sant agreed that work zones could be designed with greater safety, by adding larger buffers between the work zones and the lanes carrying traffic. But such measures would add greater cost and the public, he said, has not shown any willingness to spend that money.

“It is a large balancing game,” Sant said. “The safety work zones are where you can build a parallel roadway. But is the public willing to bear that cost? We are not even seeing a public willing to make adequate investments to just maintain the existing highways.”

Congress last year refused to index the gasoline tax, which funds roadway construction, to have it keep up with inflation. The $292-billion transportation bill fell $80 billion short of the needs that the Federal Highway Administration had identified.

“All of us would agree there are too many fatal accidents,” said Doug Hecox, a spokesman for the administration. “We are never going to have a risk-free work zone. Certainly, you will always have trade offs.”

Not surprisingly, California has more work-zone deaths than any other state. But Caltrans officials say the state is doing better than the rest of the nation. Between 1999 and 2004, construction-zone deaths dropped 35%, while the rest of the nation shot up 43%, according to Tamie McGowen, a Caltrans spokeswoman.

McGowen said the agency is carefully reviewing its design standards. It has lost three employees in the last 10 months.

Much of the improvement was credited to the department’s “slow for the cone zone” education campaign. This summer, the agency plans to hold a contest for teen drivers on work-zone safety. The prize is a Toyota Scion, with one year of free insurance.

Ordinarily, I think contests like this are silly, but the state’s efforts must be working. If you want to enter, visit the website www.slowfortheconezone.com.

Ralph Vartabedian can be reached at ralph.vartabedian@

latimes.com.