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Work Zone Awareness Week
Work Zones as Dangerous as Ever
"Road workers who risk their lives daily to improve and
maintain our highways want to go home in the evening to their families.
They are
moms, dads, sisters and brothers, just like you and
me."
– John
Horsley, AASHTO executive
director
As VDOT and other DOTs participate in the 2007 National Work Zone Awareness Week, April 2-6, the facts confirm that work zones are as dangerous as ever. Statistics on crashes are still sobering.
Work zones mean change for motorists, and change from the routine brings potentially hazardous conditions on the highways. Accordingly, the theme “Signs of Change” was chosen for this year’s national work zone week. The phrase refers to work zone warning signs as well as to changes in driving patterns.
Whether the signs foretell a reduced speed limit, lane closure, or equipment crossing, they mean something crucial for motorists: Expect the unexpected! It’s a message that VDOT employees and transportation professionals across the U.S. are stressing this week.
The best reaction to work zone changes, according to David Rush, VDOT’s Work Zone Safety program manager, is to stay focused on driving, avoid distractions, obey the posted speed limit, and leave plenty of room between your vehicle and the one ahead.
This year’s theme also means that work zones will provide improved roadways and increased safety for the traveling public. That’s a good thing to keep in mind, says John Horsley, executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO): "Our customers, the driving public, need to understand that we cannot keep our roads functional without occasional work zones."
Unfortunately, work zone fatalities are on the rise. There were 1,074
work zone fatalities in the U.S. in the year 2005, the most recent year
with
full-year statistics from the U.S. DOT. The figure compares
with 1,068
deaths in 2004 and 1,028 deaths in 2003.
In
2006 in Virginia, 17
work zone fatalities occurred on state-maintained
roadways, compared with 14 in
2005 and 15 in 2004.
The good news is that the number of work zone crashes and injuries in
Virginia declined from 2,443 crashes and 1,187 injuries in 2005 to
2,350 crashes
and 1,098 injuries in 2006. 
So when you see the orange and black signs go up, remember to slow down, stay
alert, and drive carefully but also realize that improved driving
conditions
will be right around the corner. For more information on
National Work Zone
Awareness Week, link to VDOT’s work zone site at: http://www.vdot.virginia.gov/programs/prog-wzsa-default.asp.
Work Zone Awareness Week: Automated ‘flagger’ tested >
