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| Paul Thomas |
Work zone safety wasn’t
something that I thought much about before working here, but now I know it’s
importance. Unfortunately, I had several close calls while working on the
highways and I am going tell you about an incident that happened when I first
started with KDOT.
That day’s plan was to repair
the driving lane that was breaking up on the interstate at an overpass where
the concrete and the asphalt met. A crew went out and set up traffic control
around the construction location with the crew working in the driving lane. For
the most part, traffic was going along nicely, minus a few drivers ignoring the
fact that the speed limit had been reduced, which is not uncommon.
On a work zone set-up like we
were in, there are not flaggers, so you don’t have those other individuals
watching your back. You must rely on your senses and everyone else in the work
zone to keep an eye out for each other. There is nothing more eerie than having
your back to the traffic in a work zone and feeling the wind off the larger
vehicles that come passing through as you are trying to complete your task.
On this particular day,
everyone was working and all was going well when we all heard the “sound” – the
sound of a traffic cone getting hit by a vehicle. Anyone who has worked in a
work zone for any length of time would know that sound as soon as they heard
it. So when this sound was heard, it triggered a highway worker to immediately
yell for everyone to get out of the way and take cover.
As I was running to safety, I
turned to look, only to see a driver had failed to slow down for whatever
reason, and due to other traffic was forced to crash through the cones headed
for the work zone we were working in. Luckily, no one was hurt because the
driver did finally make it back into the directed lane.
But had it not been for that
“sound” and the watchful eyes of other employees, things could have had a
totally different outcome. This was just one of many close calls that happen out
there every day. Most of the time, no one hears about these incidents because
fortunately, no one is hurt. But there are times when something serious has
happened either to a highway worker, the driver or both.
Hopefully, National Work Zone Awareness
Week helps bring to light the kinds of things that can happen in work zones so
that everyone is aware of the possible dangers out there on the roads. It is my
hope that after stories are shared this week, there is an appreciation for work
zone safety, and it becomes important to everyone. In the end, it’s all about
saving lives.
