Balfour Beatty Recognizes Live Traffic as Fifth Fatal Risk in Construction

Ahead of this year’s Construction Safety Week 2025, Balfour Beatty announced a groundbreaking safety initiative recognizing live traffic as a fifth fatal risk in construction, which expands beyond OSHA’s long-established Fatal Four (falls, struck-by objects, electrocution and caught-in/between).

According to the Federal Highway Administration, there are approximately 105,000 vehicle crashes in work zones resulting in approximately 42,000 injuries per year. The Department of Transportation also reports that approximately 900 people lost their lives in work zone crashes in 2024. Additionally, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 94 to 143 construction workers per year lose their lives from vehicle incidents in work zones.

“The statistics are staggering, construction workers in roadway work zones face life-threatening dangers every day from the driving public,” said Richard Ryan, Balfour Beatty U.S. senior vice president, safety & sustainability. “By elevating live traffic to a fatal risk, we’re taking action to eliminate these incidents to make our jobsites safer. This is about protecting our people, the public and fundamentally changing how our communities approach work zones and understanding that safety is a two-way street that requires awareness and responsibility from both workers and motorists.”

Balfour Beatty has executed several innovative approaches and advocacy measures across its operations to actively eliminate live traffic risks in work zones:

• Advanced warning technology: Implementation of alert systems across highway projects, providing digital alerts to approaching drivers through navigation apps and connected vehicles
• Enhanced visibility systems: Deployment of specialized strobe lighting systems mounted on equipment and worn by workers, increasing visibility in all weather conditions and at night
• Legislative advocacy: Partnering with Carolinas Associated General Contractors and legislators in North and South Carolina to incorporate work zone safety education into driver training programs and testing requirements for new drivers
• Acknowledgement of differing traffic types: Buildings and Civils project teammates are working across businesses to understand the ways people come in contact with work zones — whether that’s pedestrian access near a building project, vehicle traffic alongside a highway or bridge construction or train operators navigating rail projects — and developing targeted safety protocols for each scenario.