This past week was National Work Zone Safety Awareness week, both a local and national initiative to urge motorists to navigate safely around both road and utility crews. The message hasn’t exactly been as top of mind as it normally would, given the national shutdown and concentration on the coronavirus.
But as sheltering in place wears on and Georgia begins to allow more businesses to open, more people are inevitably going to take to the roads. And there have been no shortage of work zones out there while traffic volume has been light.
“Even as we all start easing back to work, these guys have been out there all the while that we have been home, trying to make repairs while we are not out on the roads. And the way to thank them and to show our appreciation is to slow down, be alert, and pay attention in a work zone,” National Highway Administrator Nicole Nason told the AJC.
One of the biggest problems Nason is hearing about is work zone-speeding. A fascinating and harrowing report from AJC transportation writer David Wickert backs this fear. The Georgia State Patrol has issued less tickets in 2020 than this time in 2019, but two-thirds more infractions for speeders over 100 mph this year. One two-week period alone saw GSP write 140 of those super speeder citations. And local police departments, most notably Sandy Springs, have seen a spike in triple digit throttle-mashers. The suddenly shutdown-driven, commodious Georgia road system has certainly led motorists to a faulty velocity entitlement that is even more dangerous in work zones
"The last thing you want to do in a work zone is speed, because lanes change unexpectedly, you've got cones, you've got barrels, you've got flaggers," Nason explained. More potential hazards are interspersed with people working next to fast vehicles. Many things can go wrong, and workers often pay the price. The Georgia Department of Transportation has lost 60 workers in the line of duty since the state began keeping that record in 1973. Add that number to the two HERO operators GDOT has lost on the roads in the last few years and the danger is even more apparent.
And even when crews are not out working, work zones usually are at least slightly more hazardous. GDOT reported in 2019 alone there were 26,036 work-zone crashes with 8,355 injuries and 39 deaths. This means that driving safely in work zones largely benefits those in vehicles, too, not just the workers. So speeding is to the detriment of anyone in a work zone. That is why GDOT’s angle for Work Zone Safety Awareness Week this year falls right in that realm.
“This year’s theme, ‘Safe Work Zones for All’, helps educate everyone about the perils we all face in work zones — whether we drive through them or work in them,” GDOT Commissioner Russell McMurry said in a news release. And seeing the grim crash data, McMurry admitted there is more work to do to bolster safety.
That is why for both the states and the feds, work-zone safety is a year-long initiative. But crews for roads and bridges aren’t the only ones pushing this message.
“With spring storms, our essential work crews are in your neighborhoods quickly and safely restoring power,” Georgia Power’s Allison Gregoire said. “If you see them while driving, please comply with the ‘Move Over Law’ to make room for the lineworkers and their trucks and ensure your safety.”
Gregoire also asked for another layer of safety: a reminder to anyone to socially distance themselves near their utility workers. And that practice should also extend to road crews (and really everyone, right?).
A big challenge for any agency trying to raise awareness for safety around road crews has been finding new, safe ways to do this during the COVID-19 outbreak. Nason said the Federal Highway Administration would normally would hold news conferences and other large gatherings to inform the media and the public. Or Nason would have slates of in-studio interviews around the nation. The FHA had to pivot quickly.
“We’re trying to really ramp up our social media message. We’re trying to do a virtual ‘Work Zone Safety Awareness Week,’” Nason said last week. She noted that trying to break through the constant coronavirus news cycle has been tough. But she said she feels people are ready to hear a different, more positive message. Given her father’s career as a motorcycle officer and her many years in transportation, her passion for safety is carrying her during this strange time.
Much as society has rightfully been thanking heath care workers, grocers, truckers, and the frontline fast-food servers, we should show the same appreciation to our construction crews. They are not getting stir crazy at home, but are instead out working close to each other and very close to the increasingly reckless vehicles that remain on the roads. So as some businesses slowly reopen and more of us inch back into more commuting, more pause is needed around the crews that never stopped.
Doug Turnbull, the PM drive Skycopter anchor for Triple Team Traffic on 95.5 WSB, is the Gridlock Guy. He also writes a traffic blog and hosts a podcast with Smilin' Mark McKay on wsbradio.com. Contact him at Doug.Turnbull@cmg.com .
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