According to the document, which cites numerous research projects as its sources, motorway workzones can lead to a 2.9 to 4.9-fold increase in personal injury risks, meaning that motorists are up to five times more likely to be hurt when travelling through a workzone. It is not, however, only motorists who face increased risks in these sections of the road infrastructure. Workers, in fact, are also in danger from vehicles dangerously speeding at close distance and because of a lack of protective features, with UK survey determining that 1 in 5 had suffered some injury from a passing vehicle and over half had experienced a near miss. According to the Discussion Paper, it is of paramount importance to make road users fully understand the scope of the problem and become aware that they can have a tremendous impact through their driving behaviour on the number of injuries in these portions of the network. Likewise, contractors and construction companies need to be made aware of the safety issues involved when undertaking works in an active motorway, where workers and traffic co-exist at the same time. The document also identifies areas where best practices have shown their effectiveness in the EU, notably in prevention, planning of workzones, information of motorists, physical protection and campaigns and enforcement. According to the ERF – IRF BPC, additional measures to improve safety can include accurate reports on workzone accident trends, updated workzone safety guidelines, the effective planning of roadworks and EC/UN led campaigns on safe workzone management. (Author/publisher)
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