Created in 2000, National Work Zone Awareness Week (NWZAW) is an annual spring campaign dedicated to educating and encouraging safe driving through work zones. It also honors those whose lives have been lost due to a work zone accident. This year, the 20th annual campaign will take place April 8-12 with the theme: “Drive Like You Work Here.”
Alabama Struck By Alliance, an organization that shares information and conducts activities to promote safe travel and operations around work zones along highways in Alabama, coordinates many of the NWZAW initiatives. They have asked companies to host safety meetings during this week to emphasize the importance of safe, undistracted driving though work zones.
Sain Associates will be participating by having a company-wide meeting and reviewing the information in the “Tool Box Safety Talk,” provided by Alabama Struck By Alliance.
Matt Lackey, Project Manager at Sain, explained how his team focuses on work zone safety routinely, since they work in roadways quite often. “We really emphasize visibility. Wearing safety vests, anything to make us more visible, as well as having adequate blockage and signage.”
Matt Stoops, Infrastructure Project Manager at Sain, says whenever his team is working onsite, they always discuss their “escape route” should they need one.
The issue of work zone safety became very personal recently when a family member of one of our CE&I inspectors narrowly missed being struck when an errant truck entered the construction zone on an Interstate highway where he and others were working. The truck came to a stop less than five feet from four construction workers. Luckily no one was injured in the incident, but it was a shocking reminder to all of us that work zone safety is a critical issue for all workers and motorists.
Please join us during National Work Zone Awareness Week as we work together to spread the key message for drivers to use extra caution in work zones. Visit http://www.nwzaw.org/ to learn how you can participate in activities throughout the week.