CHARLOTTE, N.C. — North Carolina is seeing a rise in work zone crashes.

What You Need To Know

• The number of crashes in work zones increased 5% between 2020 and 2021, according to NCDOT data
• I-77 Mobility Partners and NCDOT use truck-mounted attenuators, a metal frame that acts like a cushion meant to absorb the impact of a high-speed crash
• Over the past year and a half, four TMAs that are part of the I-77 fleet were hit, and while there were injuries, nobody was killed

The number of crashes in work zones increased 5% between 2020 and 2021, according to NCDOT data. 

“Never turn your back to traffic,” said Tim Kiser, maintenance supervisor for I-77 Mobility Partners. “Never blink your eyes for one second and think that cars are going to move over and give you that extra space.”

Kiser spends about 30 hours a week on the road, overseeing various construction and maintenance projects along I-77 near Charlotte. 

In the first five months of 2022, nine people were killed in work zone crashes, according to NCDOT. It’s a slight increase from the same time frame in 2021, when by the end of the year nearly 30 people died in construction zone crashes across the state. 

It’s a worrying trend, especially for Kiser, who has a wife and three children.

“They’re the reason I do what I do,” Kiser said.

Kiser has been responding to incidents, such as crashes, for about 15 years.

A close call about a decade ago sticks with him to this day. He remembers a time when a car slammed into the back of his truck while he and other workers were helping clear a mattress off I-85. 

“I was in the rear of the convoy,” Kiser said. “So, I was the first truck that you would've come up to and that was the one that was hit."

On the back of his vehicle was a truck-mounted attenuator (TMA).

It’s a metal frame that acts like a cushion meant to absorb the impact of a high-speed crash.

“If I didn't have that cushion on the back of the truck, then I could've been into the wall,” Kiser said. “I could've just flew all around the truck." 

Over the past year and a half, four TMAs that are part of the I-77 fleet were hit. And while there were injuries, nobody was killed, thanks in large part to the safety device. 

“It's a really key piece of highway maintenance, activities and work on the interstate, and for workers safety,” Kiser said.

Despite the dangers of his job, Kiser says he's willing to take the risk.

“It pays my bills, it keeps my family happy and it satisfies all my needs,” Kiser said. “In the end, it's enjoyable actually." 

Still, he asks drivers to play their part by slowing down and eliminating distractions, like texting and driving, especially while going around a work zone.

“I got a family, wife, kids,” Kiser said. “They expect you to come home the same way you come to work that morning."

I-77 Mobility Partners currently has three truck-mounted attenuators in its fleet and is looking to purchase a fourth soon.

Meanwhile, NCDOT uses TMAs on the back of its trucks across the state as well.