National Work Zone Awareness Week, April 26-30

The Topeka City Hall was lit in orange in 2020.

National Work Zone Awareness Week starts next Monday. As part of the safety campaign,
there will be stories all next week from highway workers and contractor employees on this blog series. Their experiences help illustrate why work zone safety is so imperative.

There is also information on KDOT’s Go Orange page - including videos, stat sheets, coloring pages, public service announcements and more. Many locations are going orange as well to show their support for highway workers. Check it all out here.  

It's important to be safe when traveling through highway construction zones all year long, but this week focuses raising awareness and teaching people ways they can improve safety. Below are a few questions to help you learn more about the need for safety in work zones.

1. Who is most likely to be injured in a work zone crash?

 Nearly 85-90 percent of the time, it’s the motorists. Driving safely in work zone protects you as well as the highway workers.

 

2. On a 25-mile trip, if you drive 65 mph instead of 55 mph, how much time will you save?     

Four minutes. And work zones are always much shorter than that – remember, a minute or two is not worth risking injury or death.

 

3. Pretend it’s Sunday and there’s no work taking place in a highway work zone. Are the fines still doubled?            

Yes, fines are always doubled in work zones.

 

4. What color is associated with work zones?

Orange.  So when you see orange signs and cones, please slow down and pay attention.

 

5. What can you do to increase safety in work zones?

Pay attention, follow traffic control, don’t speed, expect delays, allow ample space between you and the car in front, change lanes when directed to do so, and be patient.