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April 22, 2024
California Division of Workers’ Compensation Posts Updated Time of Hire Notice

April 22, 2024
Sullivan on Comp Launches ChatSOC. It's an Innovative Chatbot for California Workers' Compensation Professionals Integrated with an Authoritative Legal Treatise

April 19, 2024
Workers Compensation Bill 2024: One percent of employee’s salary to contribute to workers’ compensation fund in Kenya.

April 15, 2024
Colorado Worker Shows Head Injury Happened as a Consequence of a Knock on the Head at Work

Despite the endless wisecracks circulating about people that work on state highways, one thing that isn’t a joke is the risk these workers take each day. California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) road worker war stories could serve as the basis of a script that would complete the “Road Warrior” trilogy. Working on the interstate these days is making Mad Max’s role in “Beyond Thunderdome” look like spending the day at Knott’s Berry Farms.

It has become common knowledge that the shoulder of a California highway is a very dangerous place. The news is constantly filled with tragic accidents involving motorists striking cars or pedestrians on roadsides. Caltrans is a huge state agency with a lot of desk jobs, but for many, the highway is their office—a roadside cubicle. Caltrans claims have the potential to weigh down any California State Compensation Insurance Fund adjuster’s caseload. Daily, each highway worker lives his or her own personal Pamplona Running of the Bulls while on the clock. Talk about a serious ex-mod.

Caltrans reports that out-of-control motorists have killed more than 50 highway workers in the last 20 years. Since 1993, 19 Caltrans employees have lost their lives in the line of duty. Aside from the deaths, there have been numerous injuries. In 1995, for example, 54 Caltrans employees were injured by errant motorists in active construction zones. In 1996, 24 employees were injured by careless drivers.

But being hit by a car or truck is no longer the only way to be injured on the job on California highways. Neither are employees, according to the Los Angeles Times, just subject to the traditional “bird” or slanderous taunt. They have become routine targets of bottles, battery acid, jars of body fluids and other missiles such as beers and pastries.

Bob Haus, a spokesman for the Caltrans district office in San Francisco, told the Times, “During rush hour it gets real ugly. Sometimes we have to call in the cops to protect our workers.”

According to Caltrans, many of these assaults occur when there’s a closure or excessive congestion. Motorists often assume Caltrans employees are to blame for whatever may be putting a damper on their driving experience.

Measures are constantly being implemented to protect these employees. Many remember the safety campaign slogans, “Give’em a Brake” and “Slow for the Cone Zone.” These catchy phrases helped increase public awareness, but doubling fines in construction zones has been one of the most effective deterrents for hostile motorists. The fines have become in essence the banderilleros used to tame the raging bulls of the asphalt jungle.