(Statewide) – This is National Work Zone Awareness Week (NWZAW), an annual spring campaign held at the start of construction season to encourage safe driving through road and highway work zones.
The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) is urging motorists to slow down and save lives.
The agency works to reduce the effect of construction activities, particularly on interstate highways, where statistics show there is a greater risk of injury or death in a work zone crash.
To reduce the risk of work zone crashes for both workers and motorists, INDOT schedules and manages construction activity in accordance with its Interstate Highways Congestion Policy. INDOT employees and contractors often work nighttime and off-peak hours to ease congestion caused by construction and maintenance work.
As a reminder, INDOT created a highway work zone awareness video to draw attention to worker safety in highway work zones. A partnership between motorists and highway workers is essential to make sure that everyone makes it home safely.
In 2018, police crash data showed that 14 people were killed and more than 650 were injured in INDOT work zones. The most common causes of collision noted by police include:
- Following too closely.
- Unsafe lane movement.
- Failure to yield the right-of-way.
- Ran off the roadway.
- Ran over the object in the roadway.
- Improper lane change.
- Driver inattention.
- Unsafe speed.
These causes resulted in the following common types of collisions: rear-end, same-direction sideswipe, head-on between two motor vehicles, and roadway departure.
Work Zone Crash Statistics
- Nationally, four out of five people killed in work zones are drivers and passengers – not highway workers.
- Rear-end crashes are the most common type of work zone crash.
- It takes just one minute more to travel through a two-mile work zone at 45 mph than 65 mph.
- Areas, where traffic is entering or leaving work zones, are often more dangerous because drivers may be changing lanes and merging.
- Most fatal work zone crashes occur on roads with speed limits greater than 50 mph.
- Fatal work zone crashes occur most often in summer and fall.
Tips for Driving Safely in Work Zones
- Take extra care to pay attention and expect the unexpected. Work Zone configurations can change without notice.
- Don’t text or talk on the phone and avoid taking your hands off the wheel. Distracted driving has become a crisis on all roadways. Driver inattention is a leading cause of all highway crashes.
- Watch for speed limit reductions, narrowing lanes, changing traffic patterns, and – most importantly – highway workers.
- Respect the posted speed limits and safely merge as soon as safely possible as this will allow traffic to flow smoothly. Keep in mind, driving 45 mph instead of 55 mph through a 5-mile work zone will only add 1.2 minutes to your trip. Speeding and aggressive driving are major causes of work zone crashes.
- Keep a safe distance on all sides of your vehicles and maintain a safe following distance. Rear-end collisions are the most common type of work zone crash.
- Respect the flaggers and obey their guidance. Be patient when driving through work sites with flagger control.
- Pay attention to the construction signing. Those signs are carefully selected to give drivers accurate information and important warnings.
- Expect delays and allow extra travel time to travel through work zones.
- Select alternate routes if possible to avoid the work zone completely.
- Be patient and stay calm. Remember that the construction crews are working to make the road better for you!
To learn more about Work Zone Safety, Indiana’s Work Zone Safety Law, access to INDOT’s highway work zone awareness video, and more, visit www.WorkZoneSafety.IN.gov.
(Information provided by the Indiana Department of Transportation)
