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| KDOT employee Brian Link with his family. |
KDOT employee Brian Link shared his story in 2018 about the need for safety in work zones. He has continued to serve as the Highway Maintenance Supervisor in Johnson County, and he’s been with KDOT nearly 25 years.
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My name is Brian
Link. I have worked for KDOT for 17 years and am currently the Area
Supervisor for Johnson County. During my time I have seen numerous crashes in
and out of work zones. I personally have been struck two times on separate
occasions while providing traffic control for maintenance operations.
The first time
occurred while I was sitting on the shoulder in a dump truck with an arrow
board. I was struck from behind by a car that was involved in a crash with
another vehicle. My truck and I just happened to be in the wrong place at the
wrong time.
My second
crash happened while we were patching potholes with a mobile lane closure. I
was in the attenuator truck following the patch crew. The car that hit me had
passed two other KDOT trucks on the shoulders stationed behind me to give
advanced warning of the patching operations.
I was
fortunate not to sustain any injuries from these crashes: although the people
who hit me did suffer minor ones. These are just two examples of my personal
experiences, but I have had too many close calls to even remember them
all. I try not to tell my wife about them all, as I do not want to
worry her more about the danger that we face every day at work.
I think the
biggest concern for me is even with all our lights, traffic control and
advanced warning; our safety is in the hands of the citizens that travel the
road every day. We rely on them to drive undistracted, not under the influence
of drugs or alcohol, alert and to have their brain engaged and focused on the
task of driving.
I sometimes feel
the citizens driving do not see us as people with a family. A family we love
and want to go home to. Furthermore, we are objects in their way obstructing
their busy schedule, a nuisance that causes them to be delayed.
I want people to
know that we are there providing a service to maintain the safety of the
roadway. We have a job to do serving the citizens of Kansas and visitors to our
great state. Give us a brake…pay attention, slow down and give us a lane.
You said it very well Brian, the safety of KDOT workers on the highways is in the hands of the traveling citizens. Scary, but very true. I think it's very important to remind motorists that we are not just orange cones on the road and emphasize that just like them, our workers have friends and family that they deserve to go home safely to at the end of each workday!
ReplyDeleteYou are correct, distractions are probably the number one cause of these workplace crashes. Tougher laws and penalties are needed to change the behavior of Kansas drivers. Hands free legislation has been introduced with NO action from the Kansas House & Senate.
ReplyDeleteMost people would shudder at the thought of someone speeding through their office...but that's exactly what highway workers deal with every day. We've got to remember that we're in their workspaces and to respect them as we would any other. Like Ashley said, they deserve to make it home safely at the end of the day too.
ReplyDeleteThank you Rick. Sometimes I wish we could have drivers just stand by the side of the road for an hour or two and I bet their perspective would change...but we can't ask them to do that because it's deemed too dangerous. The irony is not lost.
ReplyDeleteIn my 10+ years with KDOT previously as Equipment Operator Senior but now as the District 2 Safety Specialist, I concur with the account above. I have been in a KDOT work zone when a County Truck was the offender where the flagger had to run into the field as the dump truck was sliding sideways, so all highway workers be careful out there and traveling public give us a little more space.
ReplyDelete