North Carolina Work Zones: 206 Deaths in 6 Years

The North Carolina Department of Transportation has estimated that more than 50 percent of crashes in work zones in 2021 involved speeding or distracted driving.

The 6,266 work zones crashes in 2021 was up 5 percent from the previous year, according to a report by WRAL. The number of fatalities has dropped from 42 to 29.

Nine people have died in work zone car crashes in the first five months of the year on North Carolina roads, which is a slight increase from the same time period in 2021.

“It’s been a public health crisis, clearly, with Covid, but it’s also been a public health crisis on our roads,” said Mark Ezzell, director of the North Carolina Governor’s Highway Safety Program.

Ezzell’s agency tracks trends on roads throughout the state. Since 2016, 206 deaths have been linked to crashes in work zones.

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Source: WRAL