Work Zone Safety

Any area of highway under construction or maintenance is a work zone. Work zones are there because workers are improving road conditions and expanding roads to create better, faster and more convenient transportation routes.

The added seconds or minutes that may result when we ask you to slow down through a work zone represent a very small price to pay for years of safer driving and less congestion.

The work zone extends from the first roadside marker to the “End Road Work” sign. While work zones may look different depending on they type of work underway, drivers will typically see cones, barrels, barriers, pavement markings and work trucks. Some work zones, such as painting, road patching, and mowing are mobile. Just because you do not see the workers immediately after you see the warning sign does not mean they are not out there. 

Four out of five drivers in a recent survey said they slowed down when they entered work zones.  However, radar speeds showed none of them actually did. It is worth remembering that the signs and other directions through work zones are intended to get you to work and other destinations as quickly and safely as possible.

Give 'em a Brake

WSDOT adopted the Give ‘em a Brake slogan and marketing efforts to encourage safer driving through work zones. The men and women working to improve your highways work just feet from live traffic, from inattentive drivers. These workers could be your family, friends, the moms or dads of your child's friends, the people down the street or the baseball coach.

WSDOT also has established a Work Zones Safety Task Force and works with the Washington State Patrol to enforce the Double Fine Law.

In 2009, WSDOT is building on Give ‘em a Brake and encourages everyone around the state to show their support for roadway workers. During Work Zone Awareness Week (April 20-25, 2008), WSDOT and many others will Go Orange! See how you can show your support and Go Orange!

Work zone survival tips

• Slow down, pay attention, and stay calm.
• Eliminate distractions.
• Merge as soon as possible. 
• Try an alternate route.
• Expect delays, plan for them and leave early to reach your destination on time.
• Observe the posted signs until you see the one that says "END ROAD WORK".

Work Zone numbers in Washington:

• Total miles of state highway: 7,044
• Work zone deaths from January 2000 - March 2008: 54 *
• Work zone injuries from January 2000 - March 2008: 5,536*
• Work zone incidents involving alcohol from January 2000 - March 2008: 615*
• WSDOT workers killed in work zones since 1950: 56

*Drivers typically do not think they are at risk in work zones or that their unsafe driving causes most of the crashes. However, the opposite is true. An overwhelming majority - close to 99 percent - of people injured or killed in work zone collisions are drivers and passengers. Pedestrians, flaggers and roadway workers account for 1 percent of injuries or fatalities.

Rear-end collisions are the cause of most deaths and injuries in work zones. Many occur before the construction work zone begins, where lanes close and cars merge. Drivers cutting in at the last minute cause sudden stops. Inattentive drivers going too fast are not ready for traffic to slow or stop.

So slow down, pay attention, help protect the worker and yourself. Give ‘em a Brake.

Did you know?

• The most likely time for a work zone incident: daylight on a clear or cloudy Wednesday in August.
• Workers most at risk: traffic flaggers.
• Top three types of collisions: rear-end collision with another vehicle, striking a fixed object, and sideswiping.
• The two major reasons for work zone crashes: speeding and inattentive driving.
• It takes less than a minute more to travel through a two-mile long work zone at 45 m.p.h. than at 65 m.p.h. - 52 seconds, to be precise.
• At 60 m.p.h., a vehicle travels 88 feet per second.  In the 3/4 second it takes to put your foot on the brake, you have gone 66 feet and will travel another 180-220 feet before the car stops.  In other words, if you speed, by the time you see a problem, you are probably out of luck!