Construction worker James Harper, 24, was killed when a tractor-trailer struck him April 15 as he filled a pothole on Interstate 77 between Kanawha City and Marmet, West Virginia.
The driver has since been arrested and charged with vehicular manslaughter, according to WSAZ 3.
One week since his death, jobsites across the country and public and private organizations are hosting activities this week to raise safety awareness around workers like him, as Monday marks the beginning of National Work Zone Safety Awareness Week 2025.
The effort seeks to highlight highway work zones to improve safety for construction workers and motorists alike. Activities include a social media blitz, wearing orange to raise awareness and a moment of silence for those who have died in fatal work zone crashes. This year, The American Traffic Safety Services Association chose the theme “Respect the Zone – So We All Get Home.”
“It’s important to grasp the meaning of this year’s theme,” said ATSSA President and CEO Stacy Tetschner in a release. “It reflects the sad reality that the majority of people killed in work zone crashes are drivers and their passengers. That’s why it’s critical to put away all distractions, slow down and stay alert when approaching and passing through a roadway work zone.”
Indeed, data indicates that motorists are in greater danger of death than workers or pedestrians. In 2022, there were 891 total work zone fatalities, according to the National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse. Of those, 136, or about 15%, were workers or pedestrians.
And it is a common issue. About two-thirds of contractors experienced a car crash on a highway work zone in 2024, according to a survey of highway contractors by the Associated General Contractors of America and construction software firm HCSS.
A little over a third of respondents reported no collisions in their work zones, while 33% said they had dealt with five or more.
Political action
Respondents to AGC’s survey also said they want state officials to act, with the majority saying the states in which they work have insufficient penalties to deter motorists from driving recklessly through work zones.
The ATSSA and the National Asphalt Pavement Association are trying to change that, announcing April 17 they will lead a coalition to address work zone safety in the next federal highway bill.
“Over the last year, awareness and education has really been the center point in our efforts on the Hill, making work zone safety top-of-mind for members of the House (Transportation and Infrastructure) committee,” NAPA Director, Government Affairs, Mitch Baldwin said in a release.
Contingency funds for work zone safety were originally included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, intended to give contractors access to federal money to make work zones safer. But the rollout of the additional federal share has been slow, Baldwin said in the release, with only three states participating, a statistic that road safety organizations hope to address.
Baldwin said one of the goals is to establish a federal working group on work zone safety to bring all these ideas, and the relevant stakeholders, to the table.
“We want everyone on the roadways to get home safely,” Tetschner said.
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