My close call in a work zone

By Commissioner David S. Ekern, P.E.

Appreciation for work zone safety was something I developed at an alarming rate.

As I think about National Work Zone Awareness Week for 2007, I recall my personal learning experience in pre-work-zone-safety days. It comes back with a rush of adrenaline—and a pause for thanksgiving.

I was the chainman on a survey crew that was setting up locations marker on a highway in Minnesota. There were no work zone safety standards back then. We had stretched the tape across the highway, on what I thought was a normal day, when an 18-wheeler came bearing down on us—and that was when I learned about diving into ditches to save your life. It was my first brush with the vulnerability a VDOT worker, contractor or motorist can experience on any day in a work zone.

Throughout my career, the only task that has saddened me is knowing the loss of the families and workers in our department who have had loved ones injured or killed in the line of duty.

Safety—work zone safety, in particular—is something we will always emphasize at VDOT. It has our highest priority and, I hope, our constant thought.

Every year in the United States more highway workers are killed than police officers and firefighters combined. There is no question that highway construction is among the most dangerous professions. However, work zones can be even more dangerous for motorists – particularly young, inexperienced drivers. Four out of five fatalities lost in work zones are motorists. I’m happy to note that since 2003, VDOT and volunteers from the Virginia Transportation Construction Alliance have taken the message of work zone safety to 91,500 of our youngest drivers, those in high school driver education courses.

VDOT has promoted Work Zone Awareness Week each year in April for the past 10 years, and we will continue to do all we can in this campaign. In addition, we will continue to look for innovative ways to safeguard motorists and highway work crews: we will accelerate construction and shorten work zone durations when possible; we will work during off-peak travel times; we will use prefabricated components to make road repairs quickly; and, in every case, we will design highway work zones with greatest care.

Thank you for your commitment and work in all of these areas. The citizens of the commonwealth appreciate your service and the quality transportation system you work to bring them every day.

Page last modified: Jan. 16, 2008