It is orange barrel season and the Ohio Department of Transportation wants motorists to think about the construction crews when they are on Ohio’s highways.
Even though this is Work Zone Safety Week, it is a driver’s responsibility to make sure that the construction workers and other motorists make it home safe all year round. Last year, there were nearly 4,800 crashes in work zones, 35% occurred when construction crews were working. Of all the crashes, just over 1,000 people were injured and 29 were killed in a work zone. But with more contractors getting ready to tackle road projects, ODOT wants to issue a friendly reminder to keep the work zone safe.
“We are out there year-round with our own ODOT forces, but we get really excited this time of year in the construction department because there is going to be a lot more activity on the roads,” says Dan Niese, District Construction Engineer, ODOT District 1. “So, as you come on these work zones the big problem, we see is speed is a big one and distracted driving obviously. People with their phones out, which is very scary if you are out there on the road working and you see these cars flying by and people are not paying attention, you know that is a real issue.”
Speeding or distracted driving could also be costly to your wallet. Last year, the Ohio State Highway Patrol issued more than 6,000 citations in work zones and over 40% were for drivers going more than 20 miles per hour over the posted speed limit.
