Tennessee recently organized a contest charging wannabe film directors to come up with a 30 PSA on work zone safety. Why? Because roughly 1,000 people die and 48,000 people are injured annually in work-zone related injuries.
Those are big numbers. Of course, not all of them are caused by people driving through construction zones - some are accidents that occur within the interior of the zone. However, four of every five fatalities in work zones are motorists. To mitigate the risks for both workers and motorists alike, the Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) have a comprehensive plan for keeping people safe. This plan includes education for the driving population, education for the labor population, keeping workers visible, speed management and general awareness.
Work zones are dangerous for many reasons. Machinery is present (machines that have extensive blind spots); construction causes dips in the road and breaks in the pavement that can cause steering challenges and car damage; workers are present in unexpected places; each day the roadway changes in unexpected ways, and on and on. That is why driving slowly and cautiously is important - even when running late or during off hours when workers are not usually present. People traveling through work zones at too great a speed is a big reason for accidents.
The FHWA along with the American Traffic Safety Services Association are organizing the 10th annual National Work Zone Awareness Week (NWZAW), which will be observed April 6-10, 2009. During this week legislators and activists alike converge to talk about how to make construction zones safer for everyone. Getting the word out to slow down in the “Cone Zone” is important for everyone who ever works in or drives through a construction zone or knows someone who does.
Tennessee’s road work awareness video contest produced many entries, both humorous and earnest. Here are a few of the videos submitted.
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