Work zone campaign reminds drivers ‘You play a role in work safety’

National Work Zone Awareness Week will kick off with an April 18 event hosted by the Missouri Department of Transportation.

The theme for this year’s event is “You play a role in work safety. Work with us.” Data provided by WorkZoneSafety.org shows that, in 2020, 774 deadly crashes occurred in work zones, resulting in 857 lives lost.

Of those deaths, 117 were workers, “making it all the more important for drivers to slow down and stay focused while approaching and passing through a roadway work zone,” states the event website, managed by the American Traffic Safety Services Association.

Bipartisan legislation introduced March 15 by Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Mike Braun (R-IN) calls on Congress to recognize National Work Zone Awareness Week.

Endorsed by 13 road safety organizations, the resolution calls on drivers to:

• Research routes ahead of time to avoid work zones, when possible.
• Avoid distracted driving.
• Obey work zone flaggers and any work zone signage regarding speed limits, lane changes and other information.
• Slow down when entering work zones and be attentive to roadway workers.
• Merge into open lanes as instructed, and slow down and move over for first responders.
• Maintain a safe distance behind other vehicles to avoid rear-end crashes.
• Provide towing and recovery professionals room to operate to clear crashes.

“Work zone awareness is critical for preventing the needless tragedies that plague our roadways,” Blumenthal said. “Road workers, first responders, pedestrians, and bicyclists are too often injured or killed by reckless, irresponsible drivers.

“All drivers should heed laws – like those to slow down and move over – when approaching these areas. By promoting commonsense measures and precautions, our resolution takes steps to protect everyone on our streets from being put in harm’s way.”