According to recent statistics from the National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse, in 2018, a total of 671 work zone crashes resulted in 754 fatalities with 124 of those fatalities being road workers. These startling statistics demonstrate the need for increased awareness of work zone safety.
Remember: every road crew worker is someone’s spouse, parent, sibling, friend, neighbor and much more. For our family of companies, safety isn’t just a core value. Our team encounters potentially risky situations daily. This means we take extra steps to make certain our crews – and those who use our roads – make it home to their families every day.
With our Continuous Improvement teams striving to improve upon our cultural safety excellence, we’re always seeking out processes that allow us to operate safely – both at our plants and in the field. In addition, our family of companies partnered with CAT Safety Services in the implementation of training materials, which our Safety Steering Team began training on last fall. These are just a few measures we take to ensure our crews LIVE SAFE and WORK SAFE.
But motorists have a part to play in work zone safety as well.
Here’s how you can help us continue to LIVE SAFE and WORK SAFE:
- Stay focused. Remove any distractions in the car – like cell phones.
- Be prepared to stop. It’s common for work zones to require sudden motorist stops.
- Give workers extra room. Be sure to leave ample room as a buffer when approaching an orange cone zone.
- Obey the traffic control signs and signals. They’re used to protect you, other drivers and our road crews.
- Give yourself plenty of time to reach your destination. Don’t let a road delay lead to a decision that could ultimately harm you and others.
Let’s repay our team’s hard work and assurance of reliable roadways by modeling safe behaviors in hazardous work zones and taking time to appreciate the safety behaviors of others.
Join us as we continue to unite for work zone safety, ultimately allowing our crews to continue living safe and working safe. It’s everyone’s responsibility.
