April 29, 2021
An annual spring campaign to encourage safe driving through construction zones is underway.
Itâs National Work Zone Awareness Week - an annual event that focuses national attention on worker and motorist safety in work zones. The Michigan Department of Transportation is kicking off the campaign and highlighting the theme: âDrive Safe. Work Safe. Save Livesâ.
Fall 2020 was said to be a time of tragedy for Michiganâs road and bridge workers. In a matter of three months, five workers were struck and killed and three more were injured in work zone crashes.
MDOT Spokeswoman Courtney Bates says most work zone crashes caused by inattentive or distracted drivers and speeding is the leading cause of fatal work zone crashes. She says their awareness campaign starts at the beginning of spring when MDOT gets going on its big rebuilding and maintenance season, which lasts throughout the summer and fall â sometimes into Novemb
Advocates urge safe driving in work zones
By Minnesota News Network|2021-04-28T06:46:09-05:00April 28th, 2021|
It’s National Work Zone Awareness Week and citizen safety advocate Sherry Munyon says the message for drivers is the same each year: slow down in work zones…
“And this year may be a little bit more intense, overall what we have seen is excessive speeding in work zones.”
Munyon is also urging motorists to put away the distractions. She says from 2015-2019 in Minnesota, 46 people died and more than 4,263 people were injured in work zone traffic crashes.
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OLYMPIA It s National Work Zone Awareness Week and the Washington State Department of Transportation wants everyone to wear orange today to raise safety awareness and honor road crews.
WSDOT says there are an average of 842 people killed in work zone crashes every year throughout the country. In 2020, Washington had seven fatality crashes in work zones on state roadways.
Since 1950, 60 WSDOT workers have been killed on the job, the vast majority in work zone crashes. State statistics show that 94.4% of those killed in work zone crashes are travelers, not workers.
Work zones have been getting safer for WSDOT workers: 21 staff were killed during the 1950s while only four have been killed in the last 20 years. The last WSDOT crew member killed in a work zone was Bruce Cowing, in 2016.
Family urging safe driving through highway work zones after losing loved one
This week, there’s a special focus on safe driving through highway work zones.
“It’s not just a TDOT worker you’re scooting over for. You’re scooting over for somebody,” Sarah Tolentino whose father was killed on the job.
Almost five years ago, David Younger was going down I-40. He saw a crew needing help with a flat tire in Hickman County and stopped.
“Of course, that’s my dad’s characteristics and personality. Always stopping to help, doing whatever he can to help others,” Tolentino said.