THIS is the terrifying moment a van ploughs through a set of roadworks in a fit of rage.
Footage from roadwork firm Balfour Beatty shows the white van smashing through barriers after the road was blocked off by closures.
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A van driver smashes through roadworks in fit of rage after getting blocked-off by closures Credit: Balfour Beatty
Balfour Beatty said workers experience around 600 incidents of abuse every weeCredit: Balfour Beatty
The company has issued workers body worn cameras, conflict resolution training and offers of counselling as abuse towards road workers skyrockets.
Balfour Beatty is used by several councils for road maintenance and said workers experience around 600 incidents of abuse every week.
To tackle the angry motorists it has upped CCTV, created an app to record incidents and identified hotspots, reports The Times.
Those in high-risk areas have been issued with 200 bodyworn cameras and offered counselling with trained clinicians.
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The company has started offering workers counselling and conflict-resolution training Credit: Balfour Beatty
Workers said they are most commonly abused over potholesCredit: Balfour Beatty
Abuse incidents vary from swearing and verbal abuse to assaults on workers.
In more extreme cases staff have been assaulted with a knife or a baseball bat and one even had a firecracker thrown at them from a car driving past.
Drivers have also tried to continue through roadworks or vandalise blockades and signs.
Despite the high number of incidents, only one case has ever led to prosecution, the organisation said.
Balfour Beatty has now launched a campaign to end road worker abuse and undertook a survey of all workers to gauge the depth of the issue.
There are 400,000 miles of recorded roadworks across the country which is double that of 2024.
Most of the maintenance is for potholes and to install full-fibre broadband.
Balfour Beatty revealed that most of the recorded incidents are from motorists frustrated with potholes and inconvenient roadworks.
One staff member said: “A white car pulled up to me and stopped traffic just to tell me to sort these f***ing potholes out. Which is a near daily occurrence now.”
Another wrote: “While marking up and raising pothole jobs on the A264 Colestock Road, a vehicle passed by and the passenger of the vehicle shouted some expletives and let fly a can of soft drink (thankfully empty), which landed close by.”
Workers said that many drivers grow frustrated when one pothole is repaired but another is left.
The infrastructure company said it prioritises repairs by safety risk.
Other staff members have been abused for taking down St George’s flags that were hanging from lampposts.
Ben Francis, an an operations manager based in East Sussex, said: “In recent years it has got worse. There has been a huge spike in these incidents across the country.
“We had a driver decide to go through a road closure the other day and they mounted onto the footpath and drove at teams that were actually working.
“After they were stopped and asked to leave they started racially abusing one of our operatives. That’s with the police now.”
Workers will now take part in a five-hour conflict resolution course to help its employees assess and mitigate risk should an incident occur.
The training advises workers that “tactical withdrawal is not failure, it’s smart”.
Brenton McLean, 45, a reactive maintenance supervisor with over 17 years of industry experience said social media is a growing problem.
Workers who have stopped for lunch or briefly checked their phones often have their picture taken and shared online.
He said: “It’s very frustrating for workers if they are just browsing social media and see a pic of themselves on there. It’s hard for them not to comment.”
Matt Herbert, a health and safety professional at Balfour Beatty, said: “What we need the members of the public to fully understand is that these people are there to make their journey better and not there to take abuse. We need a culture change.”
