Work Zone Safety

How Can I Participate?

During National Work Zone Awareness Week, you may be asking, “How can I participate in this event?” 

The most important thing you can do is get involved and let your actions be seen and voice be heard. 

The following are ways members of the Virginia Transportation Construction Alliance (VTCA), and others, can easily become involved:

• Display an orange ribbon made out of survey tape on your vehicle antenna and ask others to do the same.
  
• Burn your vehicle headlights during the day to show your support.
  
  
• Write a letter to your local newspaper about the dangers motorist present to you and your work crew. Stress that motorists need to:
  
  
  • Slow down
  • Pay attention
  • Obey traffic control devices
  • Look out for our workers

  Also stress that statistics show four out of five work zone fatalities are motorists.

• Wear an orange ribbon during the week. This opens the door to conversations and leads to opportunities to talk about the week with others.
  
  
• Invest in work zone safety training materials for your employees. The Federal Highway Administration, the American Traffic Safety Association, the National Safety Council and the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) have many videos, manuals and materials on their Web sites.
  
  
• Talk with your employees about the dangers of the job to increase their awareness. Remember safe work zones begin with them. 
  
  
• Review the Virginia Work Area Protection Manual (PDF, 394 KB), the VDOT pocket guide and flagger material (PDF, 94 KB) to ensure current practices are up to date with the latest requirements.
  
  
• Visit the VDOT Workers' Memorial. What better way to honor and remember those who gave their all?
  
  
• Examine the traffic control devices (signs, stands, cones, etc.) you use every day to ensure they are compliant and in good working condition and appearance.
  
  
• Speak at a high school driver’s education class on the dangers of traveling through work zones. It means more hearing the message from someone who faces the dangers every day.
  
  
• Contact your local congressional representatives and ask them to support increased funding for highway safety. VTCA's Web site is an excellent place to begin.

To raise National Work Zone Awareness Week to the next level, it takes all of us doing our part by making a commitment to get involved to have our message heard and understood. 

The more voices we have, the greater impact we have in asking motorists to slow down and drive responsibly through work zones. 

We all need to play an active role in raising driver awareness about work zones, which should result in increased safety for workers, motorists and pedestrians.