Asheville - At a work site along Interstate 26 in Buncombe County, the NCDOT and State Highway Patrol gathered today for an annual work zone safety event to coincide with the springtime increase of transportation projects around the state.
Last year, 38 people died and more than 7,200 crashes occurred in highway work zones across North Carolina. There were 135 work zone crashes in Buncombe County during 2017.
Speeding is the No. 1 contributing factor in work zone crashes, with rear-end collisions the most frequent type. Another common reason is not paying attention behind the wheel. That’s why the N.C. Department of Transportation, the N.C. Governor’s Highway Safety Program and the State Highway Patrol are urging motorists to slow down and not drive distracted while traveling through a construction or maintenance zone, whether or not workers are present in the highway.
“Speeding and distracted driving are dangerous enough in normal conditions and even more dangerous in a work zone,” Division 13 Construction Engineer Randy McKinney said. “Everyone should slow down in work zones, remain alert, respect the signs, follow the flaggers and expect the unexpected. Work zones can change from one day to the next.”
To promote highway safety, Gov. Roy Cooper has proclaimed April as
Work Zone Safety Awareness Month and April 9-13 as Work Zone Safety Week.
NCDOT also wants to keep its workers and contract crews safe. About 10 to 15 percent of fatalities are workers or others, such as pedestrians, who are not inside the vehicle that crashed. Active work zones are found on various types of roads and different kinds of work including surveying, pipe replacement and bridge inspection.
“People are working just a few feet from cars and trucks,” McKinney said. “Those people want to go home at the end of the work day too.”
The speed limit is often lowered because of potentially hazardous conditions in a construction area. It takes just 49 seconds longer to travel through a 2-mile work zone at 45 mph than at 65 mph hour.
The safety campaign complements the
NC Vision Zero initiative, which aims to reduce crashes, eliminate roadway deaths and encourage safer driving behavior. More information can be found at this
NCDOT website, including
driving safety tips.
Contact: David Uchiyama
duchiyama@ncdot.gov
(828) 251-6171