How would you feel if your desk sat less than 10 feet from a constant stream of cars, SUVs, and tractor-trailers whizzing by at 55 mph – or more? A bit jumpy, perhaps? That’s how highway construction workers feel every day.

And after reading the statistics about traffic mishaps in work zones, can you blame them? Since 1997, the number of people killed in work zone traffic accidents has risen by nearly 50 percent.

Nationally, about 1,100 people lose their lives every year in work zones, an average of three deaths per day. Nearly 50,000 people are injured, or one every nine minutes of so.

More than a dozen people die each year in North and South Carolina construction zones. After unsuccessfully trying to educate motorists to slow down in work zones, both states in the past several years have increased penalties for speeding in a work zone.

As peak highway construction season begins in the Carolinas, you don’t want to be a work zone casualty.

Taking the Quiz
Find out how much you know about the fine points of driving around road construction by taking this quiz.

1. Statistically, where do you run the greatest risk of a collision in a highway work zone?

            a. After the first warning sign, when traffic begins to adjust its speed.
            b. In the “transition area,” when two lanes of traffic merge into one.
            c. In the construction activity area, where workers move about and operate heavy equipment.
            d. In the “termination area,” where lanes open and traffic accelerates to normal speed.

Here’s a hint to get you started: drivers and passengers account for four out of five crash victims in work zones.

Half of work zone collisions occur when the lanes are reduced, requiring vehicles to merge, according to traffic safety experts.

That helps explain why workers don’t have even higher injury and fatality rates. It makes the correct answer “b.” Merging well before the lane closure improves odds that you’ll navigate the dangerous “merge zone” accident-free.

2. Which of the following behind-the-wheel techniques can help you head off the most common type of work zone collision?

            a. Keeping two seconds’ or more worth of space between your car and the one in front of you.
            b. Plan a possible escape route in case of a sudden stop in front of you.
            c. Slow down and let the tailgater pass.
            d. All of the above.

According to statistics from the Federal Highway Administration, rear-enders represent the most common type of work zone collision. You can keep from running into the other guy’s back bumper by observing the “two-second rule” or longer.

Pick out a stationary object as a marker. As the car in front of you passes it, begin counting, “One thousand one, one thousand two.” If you reach the marker before you reach “one thousand two,” you’re much too close. Drop back a bit. Older drivers, with reduced reaction time, should use a “three-second” rule.

How do you keep the guy behind you from riding your tail? That’s a tougher question, says Carolina Rivera of AAA Carolina’s Traffic Safety Department and an instructor in the AAA’s Driver Improvement Program.

“Don’t hit the brakes suddenly and don’t tap your brake lights hoping the tailgater will back off,” she explains. “Slamming on the brakes to get rid of a tailgater is against the law almost everywhere and tapping the brakes is not a good tactic. It might encourage road rage.”

One of the hardest areas for a driver to control is the area behind them.

”The best tactic is to allow more room between yourself and the car in front of you, encouraging the tailgater to pass, and when it is safe to do so, slow down,” said Riveria. “In case you are forced to stop suddenly, always watch for a possible escape route.”

Tailgaters cause more than 2 million rear-end collisions annually – more than 8,000 a year in North Carolina and 7,800 in South Carolina.

That makes the correct answer “d.”

3. Traveling along an interstate where the speed limit is 65 mph, you come upon a two-mile-long, 45-mph construction zone. By slowing down and observing the legal limit, you’ll add how much time to your total trip?

            a. Less than a minute.
            b. Slightly more than a minute.
            c. About five minutes.
            d. About 10 minutes.

Like other states, North and South Carolina increases the fines above normal speeding fine when the offense occurs in a work zone.

On a dollar-per-minute basis, speeding simply doesn’t pay—especially since you’ll add only 50 seconds to your total trip by staying within the legal limit of 45 mph in the example above (making the correct answer “a”).

4. In the case above—entering a 45-mph work zone on an otherwise 65-mph interstate—how do you typically respond?

            a. Continue at 65 mph.
            b. Slow down to 55 mph or so
            c. Slow down to 45 mph.
            d. Keep it at 40 mph, just to be on the safe side.

Studies show that drivers usually do slow down when they enter a work zone; they just don’t slow down enough to the legal limit. If you’re like most people—and you’re honest—you answered “b.”

Expect to see continued enforcement in active work zones this year in the Carolinas.

Lighted message boards, in some zones, provide immediate feedback on a vehicle’s speed. According to research, these get drivers to pay attention and reduce their speeds. They also reinforce the credibility of warning signs in active work zones.
Construction work zone speed limits apply whether you see workers or not. They may be present, just not visible at that moment.

5. Experts recommend staying off your cell phone in a work zone because:

            a. Using a cell phone—even a hands-free model—is illegal.
            b. The signal might interfere with on-site communications equipment.
            c. The signal might inadvertently trigger remote-controlled explosions in blasting areas.
            d. A cell phone conversation presents a distraction.

Neither North or South Carolina requires hands-free cell phone use while driving, even in work zones. However, traffic safety experts advise against calling simply because it’s unnecessarily distracting (“d”).

In work zones, hardhats often do their jobs close to moving traffic, lanes are narrow, and the traffic stream becomes compressed, so there’s little margin for error. Your phone call can wait a few minutes. That goes for rooting around for a dropped CD, munching on a bag of chips, and doing anything else that diverts your attention from the real task of driving.