This report includes an inventory of the available literature about traffic behaviour exhibited during road works. A selection has also been constructed of injury accidents which, according to the 1990-1996 road accident registration, were classified as being associated with road works. The fatal accidents of 1996 were studied as based on a description of the circumstances, a situation sketch, and a number of background characteristics thought to be relevant. The injury accidents from the 1993-1996 period in which road workers were victims were studied in detail as based on the original registration forms for the purpose of deriving a number of accident scenarios from this. In The Netherlands, about 1,000 victims are involved in accidents that take place within the vicinity of road works. Accidents involving road workers occur relatively frequently on a closed traffic lane or closed road section, on an emergency lane, next to a guard rail, on a shoulder or on a merge lane. About 60% of all the investigated injury accidents in which persons who were carrying out work became victims, occurred within urban areas. It is remarkable that the majority (two-thirds) of accidents in the group classified as 'road workers' took place, on the contrary, in rural areas.
Abstract