Kids of road crews ask drivers to help keep parents safe
Yuma County observes Work Zone awareness Week with unique approach
Yuma County will observe National Work Zone Awareness Week April 2630 with a unique approach to this year’s theme of “Drive Safe. Work Safe. Save Lives.” The children of work crews will share messages asking people to keep their moms and dads safe.
The public awareness campaign, now in its 21st year, was launched to help the public understand that everyone plays a role in keeping motorists and roadway workers safe. This year, the county’s Department of Public Works is using a unique approach to educate the public. Each day of the weeklong observation, the children of those whose jobs are directly inside of work zones will send messages to the public about their parent’s safety.
“We wanted a way to spread the message, and make it stick,” explained Joshua Scott, public works director. “We all drive through work zones and most likely don’t even see or consider those working in the zones. Seeing children express their concerns over their parents adds a more human touch to recognizing the need for work zone safety.”
Statistics from the National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse show there were 762 fatal crashes in work zones resulting in 842 deaths in 2019. In addition, 135 roadway workers were killed in work zones. The vast majority of people killed in work zones were motorists, passengers and pedestrians.
These statistics demonstrate the importance of work zone safety and the need to spread the message that everyone has a role in getting roadway workers home safely, according to a county press release.
“We traditionally have very few problems within our work zones and are pleased we haven’t experienced a major accident or injury,” Scott said. “But it’s important to send the reminder and maybe educate those few that do not necessarily follow the warnings on the signs.”
Additionally, in 2018, a total of 123,000 work zone crashes were reported and 31,000 were injury-involved crashes that resulted in 45,000 injuries, which underscores the need to observe work zone speeds and eliminate distractions when approaching and driving through work zones.
NWZAW was formed by the American Traffic Safety Services Association, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials and the Federal Highway Administration. The partnership has expanded to include the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Virginia Department of Transportation, Maryland State Highway Administration, D.C. Department of Transportation, Associated General Contractors, and American Road and Transportation Builders, plus support from many people and organizations touched by work zone safety.
To learn more about NWZAW, visit www.nwzaw.org.