U.S. work-zone crashes killed 850 people in 2024, according to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)—about 6% fewer than the 905 deaths reported for 2023 in the same current data series. That is a serious toll, but it is a count, not a measure of your personal risk on a particular trip. The available national figures do not include a work-zone exposure denominator that would show how often people drive through work zones or how many miles they travel in them.
What do the latest work-zone numbers show?
FHWA’s 2026 National Work Zone Awareness Week factsheet presents National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) data for the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Its 2023–24 comparison uses the 2023 FARS Final File and 2024 Annual Report File; FARS figures may be revised intermittently.
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| Measure | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| People killed in work-zone crashes | 905 | 850 |
| Fatal work-zone crashes | 824 | 763 |
| Fatal crashes where speeding was a factor | 242 (29%) | 262 (34%) |
| Fatal crashes involving rear-end collisions | 173 (21%) | 169 (22%) |
| Fatal crashes involving large trucks or buses | 257 (31%) | 236 (31%) |
The factsheet summarizes the overall change this way: “From 2023 to 2024, work zone fatalities decreased by about 6 percent; however, there were increases in the percentage of fatal work zone crashes where speeding was a factor and those involving rear-end collisions.” This is FHWA’s description of the FARS figures, not a claim that speeding alone caused every crash.
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Use the 905 figure when comparing 2023 with 2024 in this current series. An older FHWA release reported 899 deaths for 2023, so figures from different releases should not be mixed as if they were one consistent comparison.
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Does the death count tell you how dangerous a work zone is?
It tells you how many people died in crashes coded as occurring in work zones; it does not give the chance that an individual driver will crash or die on a particular trip, per mile, or per hour. FHWA’s cited facts-and-statistics material says national metrics for annual work-zone counts and vehicle-miles of exposure to work zones are not available. Without those denominators, the fatality totals cannot establish a personal probability or support a reliable comparison such as “work zones are X times more dangerous than ordinary roads.”
The FHWA factsheet also reports that, averaged across 2022–2024, 25.7% of fatal work-zone crashes were on urban interstates, 21.4% on urban principal arterials, freeways or expressways, and 13.6% on rural interstates. These are shares of the fatal-crash distribution, not risk rates adjusted for traffic volume, time spent in work zones, or miles driven in each setting. They show where fatal crashes occurred, not which road type is inherently riskier for an individual driver.
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Who is killed in work-zone crashes?
Of the 850 people killed in 2024, the FHWA factsheet classifies 673 as drivers and passengers, 169 as pedestrians and pedalcyclists, and 8 in a residual “Others” category. Work-zone fatalities therefore are not limited to road workers; the largest group in this breakdown is people travelling in vehicles.
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Separate from the 2024 annual figures, NHTSA data cited in FHWA’s 2024 countermeasures guide record 4,319 work-zone fatalities over the five-year period from 2018 through 2022. FHWA reports that 57% of fatalities in that period occurred in construction zones; the work-zone type was unknown for 36%, while maintenance and utility areas accounted for 7%.
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For the same 2018–2022 period, 53% of fatalities involved the FARS category “Not a Collision with Motor Vehicle in Transport.” FHWA explains that this category means the first harmful event was not an impact between two motor vehicles in transport. It is a collision classification, not a statement that no vehicle was involved in the crash.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How should drivers respond in a work zone?
FHWA’s public guidance is to slow down, stay alert, and adapt to changing road conditions. In practice, drivers should:
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- Follow posted temporary speed limits, signs and lane directions.
- Leave enough space to stop for sudden slowing or a queue.
- Put away distractions and keep attention on traffic and changing conditions.
- Expect workers, lane shifts and traffic patterns that may change as the work zone changes.
FHWA’s 2024 guide also applies Proven Safety Countermeasures and Safe System principles to work-zone planning, design, deployment, management and operations. Those are agency-level approaches, not consumer equipment recommendations.
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