Ames, Iowa — The Iowa Department of Transportation — or “DOT” — wants people to pay attention in work zones. This is National Work Zone Awareness Week.
Iowa DOT officials say that they want to honor all of the men and women who put their lives on the line every day in highway work zones. They say it’s good to take some additional time during National Work Zone Awareness Week to give them the recognition they deserve.
This fiscal year, the Iowa DOT has $732 million in construction planned. They say that means hundreds of work zones will be popping up all over Iowa. If you count all the county and city construction projects, that number easily jumps into the thousands.
The DOT offers a few things you can do to make sure everyone returns home safely at the end of each day.
Pay attention to the task of driving. Once you get behind the wheel, all other things can wait. Slow down when you come upon a work zone and if you can, move over to give workers more space. Leave plenty of space between vehicles in case you need to stop quickly for unexpected work zone activities.
Across the border in South Dakota, their DOT is asking motorists driving through work zones to slow down, give their full attention to the cars and work going on around them, and to “drive like you work here,” which is the theme of National Work Zone Awareness Week. They tell us that nationwide, four out of every five work zone fatalities are motorists.
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), speed is the number one concern in work zone safety. When traveling at high speeds drivers can arrive at a roadway work zone too fast to stop safely. If speeding is combined with in-vehicle distractions and inattentive or aggressive driving, the potential for a life-changing and potentially fatal crash increases.
DOT officials remind you that for up-to-date information on construction on state, federal, and interstate highways, you can go to safetravelusa.com and click on the state in which you will be driving. You can also call 511 for construction or snow removal information in the state from which you are calling.
