April 23 – 27 is National Work Zone Safety Awareness Week, a time to share with your citizens and entity drivers the importance of driving defensively through work zones.

We all know that unexpected delays and traffic congestion can add to everyday stresses, however being in a hurry can be costly – to you and to others.  While you may take the same route to work every day, work zones can create unfamiliar situations such as a change in the traffic pattern, narrowed or closed lanes, and the challenge of navigating by construction equipment and workers.

Here are some tips to help drivers keep their cool as the spring and summer months heat up and construction along roadways increases.

• Check on the location of work zones by dialing 5-1-1, or listen to the local news and plan your route accordingly.  You can also check the National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse for information on work zones throughout the country.
• Keep an eye out for signs that warn of road construction and take appropriate action well in advance of encountering lane reductions. Typical work zone signs are orange, and are there to help drivers move safely through the work zone.
• Obey flaggers. The flagger knows what is best for moving traffic safely.
• Stay alert and minimize distractions – “orange cones, no phones.”  Dedicate your full attention to the roadway.
• Slow down – and keep up with the flow of traffic. Speeding is one of the major causes of work zone crashes, so obey posted speed limits hwile keeping up with the flow of traffic.
• Avoid the urge to jockey for position at the entrances and exits to work zones.
• Always signal when changing lanes.
• Don’t block the passing lane.  Stay to the right to avoid obstructing the flow of traffic.
• Don’t use your horn to express anger. Don’t make gestures.
• Don’t tailgate. The most common crash in a highway work zone is the rear end collision.
• Keep a safe distance from workers and their equipment.
• Cooperate and don’t compete on the road. Let other driers merge into traffic in an orderly fashion.

Remember, everybody makes mistakes. Chances are the other drivers on the road are not out to get you – so give ‘em a brake!

VMLIP has offers a Multimedia Library with training materials at no charge for eligible members.  Check out Road Crew Safety, a DVD, in the VMLIP Multimedia Library.

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PennDOT has launched its “Work Zone Safety” campaign a bit earlier than usual this year.  The recent warm weather has allowed crews to get a jump start on projects ranging from pothole patching to bridge repairs.  The campaign is aimed at keeping road crews and drivers safe.  See what’s new this year and find out how to fix rough state roads where you live by watching this clip.

PennDOT is busy with Spring road work projects. Learn what’s on tap and hear about a statewide campaign that’s now underway which is aimed at keeping workers and drivers safe on the highway.  Plus, PennDOT employees teach Leckey a lesson on how to use a jackhammer.

PennDOT has kicked off its “Work Zone Safety” campaign a bit earlier this year thanks to the warmer weather.   See what it’s all about at this video and hear some of your Facebook roadwork questions, answered on Newswatch 16 This Morning.

A major hazard in highway work zones is when cars enter closed-off lanes clearly marked off by cones. As this small percentage is either not noticing the cones, running them over for sport, or for whatever reason don’t think a closed-off lane is off-limits to traffic. Thus the answer seemed simple: try solutions that are bigger, more noticable and more difficult to get through in order to get their attention.

Type III barricades are more visible because they’re much bigger than the standard tall channelizing cones. We had some available from past use on the project. Rather than send them to the company’s storage yard, where they’d just gather dust, I experimented with placing several in areas which were most prone to run-through by motorists.

The areas where the problems seemed worst were just before exit ramps and where entrance ramps were re-routed through closure zones.

The results were immediately noticable: every area where the barricades were placed saw ZERO entry by motorists. Since then, I’ve had my traffic control personnel placing them in high-risk areas and the results continue to show a ONE HUNDRED PERCENT success rate whereever they’re installed.

I say one hundred percent because 1) both direct observation and personnel reports have indicated no entry in the areas where Type IIIs are place and 2) Type III barricades would, if hit by a car, slide or tip over as they’re on footers. Not a single one has been moved, much less hit, since use began.

The two photos show the difference between before the barricades went up and afterwards. We placed the barricades in this area where several cars entered the closed-off area. You can see the difference in visibility.

If you see safety as a compliance matter, where you do what you have to, then maybe ramping up your work safety game may

not seem like a big deal. But excellence requires going above and beyond, thus if you have the means and the latitude to do more, then by all means, do more.

The purpose of National Work Zone Awareness Week is to draw attention to the dangers associated with working near busy traffic or hazardous sites.  This year’s official theme is “Work Zones Need Your Undivided Attention”. Please use the exclusive offer at the end of this blog to stock up on life-saving Work Zone products.

Reflective Speed Limit Signs

ANSI-Compliant SafetyVests

Two-Sided Traffic Control Paddles

Standard PVC Traffic Cones

Barricade Tapes

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The Safe Routes to School program offers grants to towns and municipalities for the purchase of MUTCD compliant school traffic signs and street signs that improve the safety of school routes.  As well as other products and services that focus on safety.

Help make your streets safer for our children and look into ways that will improve your school routes.

The “clear zone” is defined as the area adjacent to the roadway in which a driver could regain control if the space was open or “clear.”  The size of the clear zone is determined by the speed of traffic, traffic volume and other factors.

There are many approved breakaway sign support systems that incorporate the use of U-channel posts and square tube posts.  They not only improve the safety of our roads and streets, but there can be significant financial savings as well.  With most breakaway systems, when a post is hit you simply replace the lap splice hardware set or insert a new post.  There is no digging or need for post driving equipment.  This saves time and lives as it requires fewer workers in harms way.

Who does this affect?  In short, any private property owner that has public traveling on your property.  Shopping centers, malls, movie theaters, strip centers, retail stores, apartment complexes, condos and townhomes, and on and on.

Post your questions here about any concerns you have regarding current compliant guidelines.

If your traffic and street signs may need to be replaced with traffic signs the meet the current MUTCD standards.

This rule is the result of a Congressional Act that directed the Sec. of Transportation to revise the MUTCD to include minimum standards for retroreflectivity.  The rule currently applies only to traffic signs and not to pavement markings.

The clock started running on the compliance timetable as of January 22, 2008 to replace worn and non-compliant signs with new traffic signs and street signs the meet the national requirements.