Work Zone Safety - A Mom's Worst Nightmare

In 2010, Shirley McDonald shared her story about losing her son, KDOT employee Scotty McDonald, in a work zone fatality crash that happened in 2005.

This is just one of several stories that Shirley has shared during the past 20 years to help raise awareness of why work zone safety is so important. She has also spoken at events, appeared in public service announcements and talked with media.

Her efforts to improve work zone safety through the years are immeasurable. We’ll never know how many lives she saved from being lost in a work zone crash because her message slowed someone down, got them off the phone or made them more alert.

Please remember Shirley’s message every time you are in a highway work zone.

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By Shirley McDonald

Promoting work zone safety is a very personal issue for me. Whenever I pass a work zone, I am immediately reminded of the day my son, Scott McDonald, was killed while working.

What bizarre circumstances came together at the exact seconds that the driver left the road and struck him, tossing him into the air and eventually ending his life a short time later due to a massive head injury? Did the whole accident last long enough that he was aware and scared for his life? Was he in horrible pain during the last minutes of his life? Was he aware that others were with him within seconds struggling to save him? Did he know that he was not alone? Did he know how much we loved him?

Last weekend I traveled on local, state, and interstate highways where I became convinced that construction zone work is one of the most dangerous occupations that exist. I drove through the areas on a hot summer day with Kansas dust blowing, cars speeding by with little, if any, awareness of, let alone attention to, work zone speed limits or hazards. I saw drivers smoking, eating, talking on their cell phones, reading maps, disciplining children, just to note a few examples of less-than-attentive driving.

Occasionally my van rocked from the speed of drivers passing by and the force of the wind. The distance separating the work zone and workers from traffic sometimes looked like only inches, especially when concrete barrier blocks were set up or the area being constructed was small, like a two-way road with one lane each way, or an intersection in a high-traffic area. The workers concentrated on their work and seemed to be looking out for each other.

I thought about the workers out in those elements and how the weather must be affecting them and their ability to stay focused. I also wondered how they deal with the potential dangers without becoming too fearful to continue to do their jobs.

How can the workers protect themselves from the dangers all around? How can we who enter the work zones promote their safety? How can we promote the knowledge that those who work in a work zone are loved and valued individuals with someone waiting for them to come home?

 

Shirley McDonald is the mother of KDOT employee Scotty McDonald, who was killed in a work zone crash in 2005.

Never become complacent

Rick Carson, seated in center, is surrounded by his family.

 

KDOT employee Rick Carson shared his story in 2020 about the need for safety in work zones. He was promoted to Highway Maintenance Supervisor in January, and he has worked at KDOT for 10 years.

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My name is Rick Carson, and I am the Equipment Operator Specialist for the Syracuse Subarea office. I am coming up on my fifth year as a KDOT employee, having served as Specialist since July 2017.

During my short tenure as a KDOT employee, I have seen quite a few different circumstances that could have turned out very bad. I learned from early on that the best thing you can do to keep yourself safe is to keep your head on a constant swivel.

One of the most unforgettable experiences happened to me in the summer of 2019. We were patching holes on K-27 in the south part of Syracuse. The stretch of road
way is a four-lane undivided highway. The crew was working on the inside lane of the northbound lane. We had set up our work zone prior to beginning work with all the proper signs, cones, attenuator and a wedge diverting traffic into the right-hand lane. 

At some point that morning, I was standing along the center line, but still in the lane we were working in. There was some debris that had rolled over the center line, and I was going to step over the center line to sweep it back over into the hole. I was facing the north and looked to make sure no traffic was coming. 

I never looked south because there shouldn’t have been any traffic coming from that way, because we had our wedge set up pushing them right. WRONG! A truck coming from the south had crossed over the double yellow line. It was traveling north in the southbound lane and what was probably over the speed limit.

Luckily, one of my co-workers was looking that way and was able to get my attention, and I was able to step out of the way.

Thinking about it later that day, the one word that came to my mind was COMPLACENT. That day, at that particular time, I had become complacent and overly comfortable with my surroundings.

To my fellow KDOT workers, I would just like to remind you all that no matter what you are doing, always take the extra time to look around and make sure that you are doing it carefully. And always watch out for your co-workers.

To the traveling public, KDOT does what they do, to try and keep your family safe on the highways. So, in your travels, if/when you come up on any workers, anywhere, PLEASE, slow down, move over and obey the signs. Drive like it’s your family out there along the side of the road. Because we ARE somebody’s family.

 

Three seconds and Move Over Law

Lt. Tanner Blakesley's car was struck at full highway speed, which was propelled into
another vehicle that struck Lt. Blakesley and seriously injured him.

Kansas Highway Patrol Lt. Tanner Blakesley wrote his blog in 2022 about a crash that occurred in 2017 when he was a Master Trooper. He has served with the KHP for more than 10 years.

 

Lt. Tanner Blakesley

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By Lt. Tanner Blakesley, K28

I was a road trooper in the Topeka area for two years when I woke up in a ditch. The driver of the vehicle we had stopped was standing over me, asking me if I was okay. I realized I had been hit by my patrol car after a passing vehicle struck the rear of my car at full highway speed. Since that day, I have become a strong enforcer of the "Move Over Law."

That January was the first day I was training a new trooper. We had stopped a vehicle on I-470 in Topeka, and it became necessary to have the occupants exit their vehicle. I exited the patrol vehicle to help the new trooper with this task. I approached the driver's side of the vehicle, got the driver out of his car, searched him, and escorted him into the ditch.

During this time, several cars had not moved over. I diverted my attention from traffic and towards the new trooper while he had the passenger exit the vehicle. The next thing I remember is waking up in the ditch. I did not know what had happened. I was able to put the parts of my broken memory together after seeing the video from my patrol car cameras and talking to individuals at the scene. There’s nothing like seeing video of yourself launched off your vehicle's windshield into the air.

Three seconds after walking between the stopped vehicle and my patrol car, another vehicle hit the rear of my patrol car. The impact of my patrol car being hit propelled it into the vehicle I had stopped. Unfortunately, I was hit by the corner of the patrol car and thrown into the ditch. Three seconds later and my life, along with the driver of the stopped vehicle, could have been very different. Most likely, we both would have died that day because of a careless driver not moving over for emergency workers on the side of the road.

After waking up, I didn’t know just how bad I had been hurt. The new trooper checked on me first and told me not to move. I could see the new trooper was taking control of the crash scene. Luckily, he had managed to dive over the guard rail and escape serious injury.

Even though I knew I was hurt, I had adrenaline pumping through my body and got myself up and went up the ditch to help. I quickly realized my injuries were serious; I had to sit down and wait for more help. It would be four months before I returned to work, but I know I was lucky to be alive and lucky to be able to even go back to work.

Vehicles must Move Over or Slow Down for emergency vehicles and work crews not just because it is what the law requires, but because when a vehicle does not, it doesn't allow time for those in the way to react and try to get out of harm’s way. It's easy to become complacent when every day you see many cars not moving over.

Three seconds on one cold January day could have ended differently for several people because of an individual's carelessness and disregard of the Move Over Law. 

 

Note: The Kansas Move Over Law expanded on March 13 when Governor Laura Kelly signed Senate Bill 8, or the Move Over bill, into law. Drivers will now be required to move over to the outside lane or slow down and proceed with caution when passing disabled stationary vehicles displaying hazard warning lights.

This will help provide protections to disabled vehicles in addition to law enforcement, utility and road service vehicles. The new law will go into effect on July 1.

 

 

A nutty, but still serious day

Jeff Romine and his family.

KDOT employee Jeff Romine shared his story in 2018 about the need for work zone safety.  He has continued to serve as the Area Five Superintendent in District One, and he has now been with KDOT nearly 42 years.

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My name is Jeff Romine, I am currently the Area Five Superintendent in Wamego. I have worked for the Kansas Department of Transportation for 35 years.  I started out as an Equipment Operator in 1983. 

Safety has been improved for KDOT employees and for the public a great deal since I first started working for KDOT. For example, I can remember having to set up six signs when setting up a work zone, three on each side.  Now, depending on the situation, there may be a combination of 10 signs, cones and rumble strips to alert traffic of a pending work site.

During my tenure at KDOT, I have seen many close calls ranging from cars hitting the flagman’s flagging paddle to the mirrors of cars striking workers in the work zone. I have been lucky enough not to see any deaths as a result of a work zone crash, although there have been some.

One of the crashes that stands out in my mind happened in the summer of 1986 on U.S. 75. We were providing traffic control while Equipment Operators using equipment cleaned bridge decks. All our work signs were up and flagmen in the correct locations. 

I was helping to provide traffic control; it was a clear mid-morning day. I stopped a van to allow traffic to pass through from the other lane. I then moved closer to the center of the roadway and checked for other oncoming traffic.

I noticed a car that seemed to be moving faster than I considered to be safe. I realized he was not slowing so I tried to get his attention by waving the paddle as there was still traffic coming from the other direction.  

I alerted the driver of the van of the oncoming car, and I was forced to jump over the guard rail and into the ditch. The car hit the van from behind, causing the back of the van to bust open. The van was carrying a load of bagged walnuts.  Immediately the highway was covered with walnuts. I ran back out to check on the drivers of both vehicles, thankfully finding them not severely injured. 

As other vehicles continued in the other lane, they were running over the walnuts causing them to shoot through the air, this of course caused another danger as the walnuts pounded workers and other cars.

I can laugh about it now and joke that 32 years later, walnuts still haunt me. But the seriousness of that situation will never be funny. An adult could have been in the back of that van. Or a child. And they could have been injured, or worse.

Please drive safe in work zones and protect everyone – motorists and highway workers.

 

National Work Zone Awareness Week: Safety is a priority all year long

 National Work Zone Awareness Week is coming up April 21 to 25. This important safety campaign educates the public of the importance for safety in work zones for both highway workers and the traveling public.

KDOT, KHP, KTA, FHWA and other transportation safety partners work together raise awareness on work zone safety. As part of Kansas' safety campaign, stories from five highway workers who have shared their experiences in year's past will be highlighted here again. These stories highlight what highway workers potentially face every day - close calls or actually being hit while in work zones. 

In addition, one story from Shirley McDonald will be featured in the series. Shirley's son, KDOT employee Scotty McDonald, was killed in a work zone crash in 2005. She has spent a lot of time the last 20 years writing blogs, speaking at events and talking to the media on why work zone safety is so important. She knows. Even after 20 years, the loss and grief haven't gone away. 

Please remember - these folks have families too, and they want to go home safely every night. Take that extra minute to slow down, ditch all distractions and pay attention. 

The work zone safety blog series will start tomorrow and run all next week. Please share these stories with everyone - think about if someone you cared about was a highway worker.

It's up to you to improve work zone safety

 

We’re wrapping up National Work Zone Awareness Week with a final video.

Highway workers know their family members and friends are concerned about their safety. Workers don’t want their loved ones to worry about whether or not they are coming home tonight. Please take the time to slow down and pay attention.

Click HERE to watch the safety video.  

To all of you who work alongside the highways, thank you for everything you do to construct and maintain our roadways. Your efforts are greatly appreciated. 

So many close calls in work zones

 

Kansas highway workers tell of the close calls they have experienced in work zones. Sadly, these stories are but a small sampling of the times KDOT workers have had to react to potentially life-threatening situations.

KDOT highway workers and family members included in this video series volunteered to be interviewed by KDOT’s Multimedia Services Division.

The workers want to help the public understand what it’s like to work along the highways, inches from vehicles going 55 mph or more. Their families discuss what it’s like to be in their shoes. What if that was your loved one working along the highway?

Click HERE to watch the safety video.  

To all of you who work alongside the highways, thank you for everything you do to construct and maintain our roadways. Your efforts are greatly appreciated.