(The International Brotherhood of Teamsters issued the following news release on April 3.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — National Work Zone Awareness Week, scheduled April 3-9, 2005, is a national campaign that helps increase public awareness of work zone safety. It also brings to the attention of the motoring public and the media the fact that nearly 900 men, women and children are killed senselessly in work zones each year.
The American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA) partnered with the Federal Highway Administration and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials in December 1999 to annually conduct this event. Since then, countless partners have joined the cause as well as ATSSA Chapters around the country. Local community activities help educate the nation on work-zone related injuries and fatalities and the hazards and dangers that can be encountered and avoided when driving through a roadway construction zone.
According to a study conducted by the University of Illinois, drivers indicated that they were aware of the hazard of traveling through work zones, and 90 percent of them considered it to be more hazardous than driving in non-work zone areas. However, a previous study found that only 54 percent of all drivers (mostly car drivers) considered traveling through work zones to be more hazardous.
In 2003, there were a total of 1,028 work zone fatalities. These fatalities can be prevented. For example, according to the University of Illinois study, truck drivers want to know far ahead of time about work zones, and about half of them want to see a sign 3-5 miles ahead.
Work zone features, including as merging to an open lane, median crossovers, lack of shoulders, pavement edge drop-off, loose construction materials, lane width, driving in “S” curves, and lane closure taper length remain issues of concern among truck drivers.
Some drivers have difficulty seeing flaggers and/or understanding the directions given by them. Among traffic control devices, impact attenuators seem to be ranked the highest in terms of helpfulness. Others such as cones, white plastic barricades, and barrels seem to be less helpful.
According to the study, a small percentage of truck drivers (6 percent) had accidents in work zones. Many of the accidents occurring in work zones involve motorists who are not versed on the many hazards involved.
Visit these sites for more information related to Work Zone Awareness Week:
American Traffic Safety Services Association
http://www.atssa.com/about/default.asp
National Work Zone Safety Clearinghouse
http://wzsafety.tamu.edu/index.stm
National Work Zone Awareness Week 2005
http://wzsafety.tamu.edu/outreach/awareness_week/