The Humble Hard Hat: A Critical Shield for Highway and Public Works Crews

The photo above is a screenshot of a page on my local highway superintendents association website. I was appalled at the sight of three workers, without hard hats, working in extremely close proximity to a large galvenized squash culvert being maneuvered overhead. To label it as incompetence would be generous. But let's be frank - it's pure stupidity - and it's bizarre that anyone would include such a photo on their website as if the activity therein is an acceptable, normal practice for road workers. Hence, this article.

Despite its simple appearance, a hard hat represents decades of engineering, thousands of saved lives, and countless injuries prevented. And for municipal crews who work in dynamic, constantly shifting environments, the importance of consistent head protection cannot be overstated.

The Job-Site Reality: Risks Are Everywhere

Highway and public works crews operate in conditions where hazards can emerge in an instant. Even routine tasks, such as patching asphalt, installing signs, cleaning out culverts, or loading salt, place workers around equipment and structures capable of causing severe injury.

Consider a typical day:

• A loader’s bucket is raised overhead as gravel is dumped into a truck.

• Excavators swing across trenches for drainage replacement.

• Dump truck beds rise unexpectedly while unloading materials.

• Chains, rigging, or tools slip during lifting operations.

• Cutting branches or removing debris exposes crews to falling limbs.

• Vehicles pass too closely on narrow shoulders during flagging operations.

Each of these scenarios carries the risk of an object striking a worker’s head, even with skilled operators and strong safety culture.

Falls remain one of the leading causes of traumatic brain injuries in work environments, but “struck-by” hazards, particularly from machinery and overhead loads, are the number one cause of fatal injuries in construction-related occupations. Road crews, who often work in active rights-of-way and tight work zones, face both categories daily.

A hard hat cannot eliminate these hazards, but it dramatically reduces the severity of accidents when they occur.

Why Hard Hats Matter: The Physics of Protection

A modern hard hat is designed to absorb, redirect, and dissipate force. When an object falls or swings into the head, the shell and suspension system spread the impact energy across a wider area, reducing the pressure on the skull and brain.

This matters because even a small object can generate surprising force when dropped from a height. A piece of equipment moving just a few inches can deliver dangerous momentum an unexpected slips or trips often send workers into low-clearance structures (bridges, dump beds, equipment arms, sign posts, etc.). Without a hard hat, even minor impacts can cause concussions, skull fractures, or life-threatening traumatic brain injuries. With one, the outcome is dramatically improved.

Overhead Loads: The Most Unforgiving Hazard

One of the most dangerous situations for road and DPW crews is working under or near suspended loads. These loads don’t have to fall far - or at all - to cause serious harm. Under tension, rigging can snap. Operators can lose sight of the ground crew. Sudden shifts can cause materials to swing.

A hard hat provides a crucial layer of protection in such moments, giving workers a fighting chance when milliseconds matter.

OSHA’s guidance is unequivocal: never work under a suspended load without proper head protection.

Heavy Equipment: Constant Movement, Limited Visibility

Whether it’s a backhoe, loader, grader, or even a plow truck backing up, equipment movement is a top cause of struck-by injuries. Blind spots are inevitable. Communication can break down. Noise masks warning signals.

Operators do their best, but helmets exist because even one mistake, one miscommunication, or one unlucky moment can have devastating consequences.

Municipal crews are especially vulnerable because many job sites involve:

• Soft or uneven ground

• Roadside ditches

• Tight culverts

• Confined shoulder areas

• Debris piles

• Limited traffic control space

In these environments, a hard hat is an essential last layer of protection against unpredictable equipment movements.

Not All Hard Hats Are Equal

Crews should understand the differences in hard hat types and classes:

• Type I protects against impacts directly to the top of the head.

• Type II provides protection for both top and side impacts.

• Class G protects against general use.

• Class E offers electrical protection.

• Class C provides breathability but no electrical protection.

For highway and public works environments, Type II, Class G is often the best general-purpose choice due to its side-impact protection, which is important around swinging equipment and tight clearances.

Proper Fit and Replacement Are Non-Negotiable

A hard hat only works when:

• The suspension system is intact and properly adjusted

• The brim and shell show no cracks, dents, or UV degradation

• Accessories are used appropriately (not drilled or modified)

• It is replaced after any significant impact

• It is retired when the manufacturer’s lifespan is reached, often about 5 years

Stickers, paint, or job-site modifications can weaken shells. Leaving a helmet on a dashboard in the sun ages it rapidly. (Workers placing stickers on their hard hats is a personal pet peeve. It's a hard hat for work, not your middle school lunch box.)

Building a Safety Culture Around Head Protection

Hard hats work best when they become a default expectation, not a rule enforced only after an accident.

Departments can improve consistency in many simple ways.

Make PPE checks part of the tailgate briefing. Asking "Do you have your PPE?" takes two seconds. It's a massive hassle to send a truck back to motor pool because of a missing hi-viz vest or hard hat. 

Ensure spares are available on every truck, and supervisors should be reminded to never harass an employee who "forgot" or "lost" their gear. Don't create a culture where employees are afraid to get safety equipment due to your bad attitude. Yes, it's frustrating that certain employees lose pieces of their PPE far more often than others, but don't let that frustration show.

Include hard-hat requirements in standard operating procedures. Even small departments should have a written SOP. Yes, written. Policies shouldn't be treated as mystical lore. Write them down and educate your employees.

Regularly reminding crews that accidents often happen during “routine” tasks. Most everyone I met during my tenure at a highway department had an on-the-job horror story or two. So, subconsciously, they know that injuries - or worse - happen without notice and during tasks they've completed hundreds of times. Use those stories as proof that danger is lurking.

Encourage veteran employees to set the example. Depending on your department, this may be difficult. You'll likely have a mix of old-timers who are excellent employees, natural-born teachers, and almost always set the example of a safe, professional work environment. However, we all know some of our veterans are pig-headed and lazy. (And they always know better.)  I had a foreman who was constantly in a rush for no obvious reason and highly accident prone, which is a horrible combination. So, I understand. It's difficult, but you may have to keeping writing them up and giving them unpaid days off until they decide to be part of the team.

Safety culture is shaped as much by habits and peer expectations as by policy.

A Small Investment That Saves Lives

For road crews and municipal workers, the hard hat isn’t optional; it is a lifesaving tool worn in a world filled with heavy machinery, overhead hazards, and unpredictable job-site conditions. A few ounces of plastic and suspension engineering can mean the difference between walking away from an accident or facing a life-altering injury.

When departments take hard hat use seriously,  through training, modeling, and consistent expectations, workers are safer, families worry less, and the community benefits from a public works crew that is protected and prepared.

Here are some useful head-injury / traumatic brain injury (TBI) statistics relevant to public works / construction and municipal staff. 

Key Statistics

• Between 2003-2010, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) found that 2,210 construction workers died from a work-related TBI, which equated to a rate of 2.6 per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers. (CDC Blogs)

• In 2018, it was estimated that almost 8,000 construction workers suffered a head injury and around 230 died from their injury. (CPWR)

• A summary “By the Numbers – Head Protection” fact sheet noted: in 2012 there were more than 65,000 cases involving days away from work due to head injuries, and 1,020 worker deaths from head injuries in the workplace. (BHHC Safety Center)

• A 2016 Massachusetts Department of Public Health report on local government workers (including municipal workers) found that local government workers file injury claims at higher rates than private sector workers. While it did not specifically isolate head injuries for public works staff, it shows the overall elevated injury burden in municipal work. (CDC Stacks)

• According to a 2013 study in Ontario, work-related TBI contributed to 45% of work-related fatalities. (PMC)

Implications for Municipal/Public Works Departments

• Although many published data focus on construction broadly, the hazards faced by municipal highway departments, stormwater crews, sign maintenance, drainage work, etc., often overlap (working outdoors, near equipment, moving loads, elevated surfaces, traffic zones).

• The data suggest that head injuries are a significant risk, especially in dynamic, exposure-rich work environments (falls, struck by/against objects, traffic intrusions, etc.).

• For your audience—town highway superintendents, public works directors—the key message is: even if department injury claim summaries don’t break out “head injuries,” the prevalence in construction/municipal sectors justifies focusing on head protection, hazard controls (e.g., struck/against, falls, work zone intrusions) and strong recordkeeping.