Maneuvering through work zones can be difficult and dangerous. Driving through these areas is not to be taken lightly. Drivers speeding and not paying attention are the main causes of work zone crashes.
What is a work zone?
- Work zones are wherever you see workers, flaggers and surveyors in bright yellow-green or orange vests.
- Work zones are also marked with orange cones or barrels, concrete barriers, traffic control devices or moving vehicles with flashers.
- Work zones operate day and night, anywhere you travel.
What are the risks in work zones?
- Nationally, one motorist, passenger or highway worker is killed in a work zone accident every 8.2 hours and more than 40,000 people are injured in work zone crashes each year.
- Four out of five people killed in work zones are motorists – not construction workers.
- The most common crash (one in three) in a highway work zone is a rear-end collision.
- Areas where traffic is entering or leaving work zones are most dangerous because it is where drivers are jockeying for position.
What precautions should be taken when driving through a work zone?
- Minimize distractions. Dedicate your full attention to the road and those around you.
- Stay alert, expect the unexpected. Keep an eye out for workers and their equipment.
- Don’t speed. Enhanced fines may be levied for speeding in a work zone.
- Don’t tailgate. Unexpected stops frequently occur in work zones.
- Don’t change lanes in the work zone. The time saved just isn’t worth it.
- Follow the signs. Signs and flaggers will direct you through the work zone. Expect changes in traffic patterns as the project progresses.
- Be patient. Remember, the crew members are working to improve the highway, and the safety and comfort of your future travels.
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