LEBANON, Ohio — The number of roadside crews getting hit at worksites is growing in Ohio. State transportation officials say that's unacceptable.
87 Ohio Department of Transportation workers, vehicles and equipment have been hit across the state so far in 2025. That's compared to 84 for the entire year of 2024.
"Unfortunately, I expect (the number) will probably continue to go up," ODOT Press Secretary Matt Bruning said. "Some of our people are desensitized to it. They just accept it as part of the job, and they shouldn't have to accept it as part of the job."
Bruning said typically, most incidents happen during winter months when icy and snowy weather creates dangerous road conditions. That was especially the case at the start of this year. But workers, vehicles and equipment are vulnerable year-round.
"We were seeing a lot of our snowplows hit," Bruning said. "But more concerning is when we get hit in the summer months, when our men and women are outside their vehicles. You know, they're out working on the road. It's one thing to be hit when you're in a snowplow truck, when you're usually the bigger vehicle, and our folks don't typically get hurt as much in those types of crashes. It's another thing when you're out along the road and there's really nothing between you and there's really nothing besides maybe some plastic barrels or some cones or maybe nothing at all."
There have been seven incidents recorded so far this year in ODOT District 8, which encompasses Southwest Ohio.
WATCH: Hear a Southwest Ohio ODOT worker recount a recent close call
Three incidents happened in Butler, Clermont and Highland counties between January and February. The others happened in Hamilton and Warren counties between April and August.
We spoke with ODOT crew member Jennifer Nelson, who witnessed and narrowly avoided a crash on August 14. Her coworker was operating a tractor pulling a mower on State Route 73 near Waynesville. Nelson was driving behind it in a follow truck, which maintains a buffer distance of four to five car lengths between the equipment and passing vehicles.
A driver cleared Nelson's vehicle but failed to clear the mower ahead of her.
"The car went past me to get in the lane and when she kept on driving, she didn't hit her brakes or slow down, but when she went to go around the tractor, because she didn't see anybody coming, she got too close and clipped the bush hog tire, caught her car and it made her roll three or four times," Nelson said.
The driver of the car wasn't seriously injured, Nelson said. Her coworker suffered a concussion and had to be out of work for several weeks.
"Every day, you don't want to be scared about it or anything, but back of your mind, depending where you're at — especially the highways. The highways are so much worse than the little two-lane roads or four-lane roads. You don't know if someone might come over and hit you," Nelson said. "You've just got to keep on going and not think about that, but you know deep down that it could happen to any of us."
Nelson said she's had other close calls, both on rural roadways and the interstate, and that most of her coworkers have too. That's the reality at every ODOT garage in the state, Bruning said.
"These are men and women who have families at home who they want to get home to at the end of the day. They put in a hard day at work to ensure transportation in our state is easier for you and I," Bruning said. "The only thing they ask of us, in return for that, is to pay attention to them. Give them the room to work. That is not a hard ask, and it's not unreasonable to ask."
Drivers are legally required to give roadside crews room to work. Move Over Laws exist in all 50 states. Ohio's version went into effect in 1999, initially focusing on law enforcement vehicles, before expanding in 2013 to include all stationary vehicles with flashing lights.
If you see flashing lights, you must move to the next lane. If it's impossible to move over, you must slow down.
"There are plenty of signs in advance of that work zone. There are vehicles with flashing lights. All of our men and women are wearing high-visibility vests, hard hats. It's not hard to see," Bruning said. "To me, there's no excuse for, 'Well, I didn't see that work zone. '"
Bruning said it's difficult to pinpoint the exact reason for worksite crashes, but both he and Nelson place significant blame on the epidemic of distracted driving.
"They're on their phones or messing with their radio or something. They're just distracted," Nelson said. "We all want to go home at the end of the day. We don't want to end up in the hospital or passing away, depending on how serious the incident is."
Despite the increased number of incidents, Bruning said no ODOT workers have been seriously injured on the job so far this year.
When we asked about possible safety solutions, Nelson suggested a change to digital signage. Currently, crews can flash an arrow on the electronic boards if they are working in a driving lane. If they're on the shoulder, they can only flash four dots or a solid line.
Nelson said allowing an arrow at all times, no matter where crews are working, would make drivers heed more caution.
