Work zone safety
The Virginia Department of Transportation and our transportation partners will observe National Work Zone Awareness Week April 19-23. The theme for national activities is “Work Zones Need Our Undivided Attention” and Virginia is emphasizing a growing need to designate work zones “No Phone Zone” areas.
Awareness of your surroundings is the responsibility of drivers and our crews. This was brought home to my colleagues and me last June when a driver suffered a medical emergency and traveled across multiple lanes of traffic before striking a VDOT truck in the crossover. If it hadn’t been for that truck moving moments earlier, the vehicle would have entered our work zone and serious injuries or death might have been the result.
Since that incident, we have become more observant of activities around us, not just of oncoming traffic but a full 360 degrees around us. And, one of the things we observe very frequently is drivers going through our work zones, talking on a cell phone or reading text on a smart phone.
According to recent studies, use of phones while driving greatly increases the likelihood of being involved in a crash. Most at risk are motorists who text while driving; who are 20 times more likely to be involved in a crash than non-distracted drivers.
There is enough distraction in the work zone — equipment and workers near the travel lanes, changes in traffic pattern and speed, and noise — without adding phones.
I hope you will join me in helping to make highway work zones accident free. We will do our part to ensure the roadways are safe, but you, the driver, need to do your part. Put your phone away, keep both hands on the wheel and stay alert when you approach a work zone. With your help, all of us will get home safely to our families each night.
CARL B. DANIEL
Transportation Operations Manager
Lynchburg District, Cluster Springs Area Headquarters
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