Road construction workers face alarming amounts of abuse, threats, and violence, according to a new survey.
It doesn’t help that road users refuse to stop more than once a week. 4.3% of respondents reported being struck by a vehicle in the past year.
The 2025 Traffic Controller Safety Survey is the first trans-Tasman study exploring the experiences of traffic controllers.
Nearly 700 New Zealand workers participated. They reported feeling less safe and more at risk than their Australian peers.
Civil Contractors New Zealand chief executive Alan Pollard hopes the public understands that roadwork sites are high-risk environments for workers.
“Traffic controllers work to keep people safe on and around road work sites, and their companies invest heavily to manage risk and keep road workers safe,” he says.
“Despite their best efforts, traffic controllers are having to face up to some of the highest risks on the job, including oncoming traffic and abuse.
He says it’s outrageous that around 30% of traffic controllers do not feel safe in their work.
“This would not be normal in any other workplace, and it should not be normal in temporary traffic management. It’s something we must address as an industry, and as a society.”
Nearly 20% of respondents reported experiencing some sort of physical assault in the past year. Pollard says the survey results demonstrate the risks workers face, with a majority reporting verbal abuse.
Pollard calls for greater leadership to support people at the coalface better. “It’s not acceptable that those who work to keep people safe are subject to violence and abuse.
“It must stop, and we all need to stand up and support better outcomes for the people who devote their time to safe road work sites.”
While most people work in safe offices, traffic control workers operate in live traffic lanes and in busy, high-risk areas. To be so on edge has a physical and psychological impact.
Pollard advocates for policy-level support to implement the survey’s recommendations. These include strengthening enforcement and consequences, and expanding the technology available to road workers.
He also calls for more physical protection on road work sites and hopes to see a full-scale public awareness campaign in the future to address the poor behaviour and abuse that is experienced all too often.
The 2025 Traffic Controller Safety Survey was produced by the Temporary Traffic Management Industry Steering Group (New Zealand) and the Traffic Management Association of Australia (Australia).
