Worker Safety Takes the Spotlight April 15-19

What’s happening: National Work Zone Awareness Week (NWZAW) is taking place April 15-19 to raise awareness of both the physical and mental issues facing roadway workers each day on highways and bridges across America. Among them are:

• April 15: Livestreamed from a job site in Mobile, Ala., roadway workers will pause to learn how to make work zones injury-free zones, the effective use of internal traffic control plans, and how to define the struck-by challenge, as part of the National Stand-Down to Prevent Struck by Incidents sponsored by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse. The event is being led by ARTBA and the Alabama Road Builders Association.
• April 16: Maryland’s Department of Transportation (MDOT) hosts an invitation-only, livestreamed event on Interstate 695 near Baltimore overlooking the site of the March 2023 work zone crash that killed six roadway workers. More than 200 transportation vehicles will take part in a “Unity Ride” around the I-695 Beltway in support of work zone safety. MDOT officials will also address the loss of six more workers killed when the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed March 26. Other details are on MDOT‘s website.
• April 18: The Center for Construction Research and Training (CPWR) hosts a NIOSH webinar “Developing and Enforcing Internal Traffic Control Plans” that explores how to coordinate the flow of construction vehicles, equipment, and workers operating in work zones to prevent crashes, injuries, and deaths.

Why it matters: For 20 years, ARTBA has been supporting NWZAW as it cautions motorists to be aware when driving through highway work zones. In 2021, the most recent year numbers are available, 956 people were killed in work zones, with another 42,000 injured, according to the National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse.

Dig deeper: The ARTBA’s Foundation’s Safety Center provides training and information to improve the health and well-being of workers, motorists, cyclists, pedestrians and their families.  These free resources can be used in local NWZAW and Stand-Down events.