Roadworker safety fears - Telegraph Suddenly I knew this was it. The truck's headlights were really close. I was just getting on the radio to warn the lads when there was a loud thump. The TV screen turned to static. I was rammed into the seat and went from 0-56mph in a second. All I could think as the truck shot down the road was that I had to steer into the verge to avoid the lads. Fortunately for the crew, Carl and the IPV's automatic braking system did their job. Carl was less fortunate. He was taken to hospital suffering from whiplash injuries to his back and neck. The truck driver - who claimed he didn't see the IPV - was unhurt. Confined to home on statutory sick pay, Carl endured a miserable Christmas punctuated by vivid flashbacks and was only able to return to work, the following January, after extensive treatment. Only months later was he able to resume playing rugby. His experience is far from uncommon, as the latest statistics reveal. Highways Agency contractor Atkins, Carl's employer, says it has suffered seven IPV "strikes" in the past three years alone. And Agency figures reveal that the number of fatal accidents involving roadworkers on the UK's major routes has climbed alarmingly, with careless drivers usually to blame. In 2005, there were five worker fatalities and 12 major injuries on the Agency's 4,300-mile network of motorways and trunk roads, more than double the previous year's figure. In 2006, there were two fatalities and 20 major injuries followed by no fatalities in 2007, but 15 major injuries. In 2008, there was one fatality and 25 major injuries, followed by one fatality in 2009 and 35 major injuries - including Carl. In 2010, six workers died and 29 were seriously injured. There was an improvement last year, with no deaths and 14 serious injuries. "The people who work on our roads are at significant risk," said Paul Mitchell, the Highways Agency's head of health and safety. The roads are their place of work. Their safety is something we take very seriously indeed. We do everything we can to minimise the risks, but in 2010 six contractors were killed working for us, three on construction sites and three involved in live traffic activities. With some 1,500 traffic officers (none have died on duty since their introduction in 2004) and about 2,000 traffic management operatives working on live carriageways - many working within spitting distance of vehicles travelling at speeds of at least 50mph - the danger is a constant worry to Paul and the Agency. In a bid to drive the statistics down, hard-hitting public information campaigns, industry safety drives and new technology, including more IPVs and "talking" traffic cones that emit a radio alert when they are dislodged, are the order of the day. Widespread use of average-speed traffic cameras has helped, too. Permanently installed at 10 sites across the Agency's network, they have raised speed limit compliance to 99 per cent. "But due to large volumes of traffic, this can still equate to 150-plus drivers a day putting themselves and others in danger by speeding," said Paul. The incident log for May from Balfour Beatty, which is responsible for 1,250 miles of highway and just one of scores of contractors working on the Agency's network, fleshes out the figures. At first glance, the entries - nearly one a day - appear trivial. But to the workers nearby, each one represents an ever-present threat that can turn perilous in the blink of an eye. "May 3: cones and lamps hit by unknown vehicle"; "May 4: plant lorry struck cone on hard shoulder"; "May 6: Ford turned left at excessive speed, driver corrected steering to prevent slide"; "May 10: truck knocks down barrier"; "May 11: vehicle attempted to speed through toll booth barrier behind another vehicle, striking the barrier which hit operative helping a customer." The dangers are dramatically borne out by an Agency film, A Lot Can Happen in Five Seconds. In a chilling variation of Groundhog Day, it shows a motorist hurrying to work along a dual carriageway on five near-identical days, on which he takes five different courses of action. On day one he speeds past a coned-off section where maintenance crews are working, at 70mph, ignoring the 50mph limit, and is stopped by police. On day two he swerves into the cones to the horror of nearby roadworkers, and is banned from driving. On day three he swerves over a roadworker's foot and goes to prison. On day four he ploughs into a roadworker, killing him. Only on day five does the driver slow to 50mph and arrive at work incident-free... just five seconds over schedule. It's a simple but powerful message. "We are always looking at ways of getting motorists to comply but some can be bloody-minded, while others simply don't understand the risks to the people doing the work," says Mitchell. We see abuse to roadworkers, too, with some drivers becoming violent, even throwing bottles or cans of urine at them. Other motorists actually remove rows of cones and deliberately drive where people are working. Unfortunately there is not much we can do with those who are going to break the law. We are trying everything, such as speed cameras, better warning signs and overhead gantry messages, but still there will always be a motorist who ignores it all. How contractors and the Highways Agency are minimising risk CCTV-equipped Stop/Go boards to film lawbreaking drivers. More IPVs to warn motorists and protect workers. More eye-catching cone layouts using fewer cones, minimising risk to cone-installation teams. More average-speed cameras. Wider use of overhead gantries instructing motorists to avoid closed lanes.