Is it really worth it?

By Jeff Barnes

Jeff Barnes
Vice President of Venture Corporation

We are all in a hurry.  We live in an instant gratification society.  We want what we want, and we want it now.  We have cell phones, Google, texting, the internet, Facebook, Snapchat and many other ways for instant communication.  When it comes to travel we have fast cars.  And we don’t want anybody to slow us down.  Who doesn’t get irritated at that driver in the left lane going 2 mph slower than you and they won’t get out of your way?  This probably costs you 30 seconds of your time.  Is it really worth the aggravation?

Work zones are another area that can aggravate drivers.  Slowing down to 55 mph on the interstate seems like such an inconvenience.  Driving 55 mph rather than 75 mph through a 10-mile work zone on interstate costs you less than three minutes.  Is three minutes really worth a speeding ticket, or causing an accident, or worse yet hitting a worker?  Is it really worth the risk?

A bigger inconvenience involving work zones is when you encounter a flagger and have to wait on a pilot car.  I know it seems like an eternity, but the maximum wait time in the pilot car line is 15 minutes.  KDOT (and the public) do a good job of monitoring our pilot car cycle times.  If we get over 15 minutes, we hear about it and must change our process.  Pilot cars are necessary when the road is narrowed to one-lane traffic.  A potentially dangerous area of a flagging zone is approaching the flagger.  I have seen some terrible wrecks because somebody wasn’t paying attention and didn’t stop in time and hit a stopped car.  Please be patient at the flagging zone.  It isn’t the flaggers fault.  Is it really worth the risk of a crash?

I’m Jeff Barnes, Vice President of Venture Corporation.  I have been building roads for 34 years.  We are making the roads you drive nicer and safer.  Please slow down and get where you are going.  My workers have the right and the expectation they will go home to their families each night. 

                                                                             

 

A nutty, but still serious day

Jeff Romine and his grandson.

        My name is Jeff Romine, I am currently the Area Superintendent in Area Five (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 for 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.

                                                                                                                              

 

Target on my back

Bruce Winkle

By Bruce Winkle, Highway Maintenance Foreman

        I’ve been with the Kansas Turnpike for 39 years. And in that lengthy tenure, I’ve come to the conclusion that I must have a target on my back. I’ve had the unfortunate pleasure of my vehicle being struck on the roadway not once, not twice, but seven times. One time is too many, so seven is a pretty scary number.

        The first time I was struck was 30 years ago on Christmas Eve where a van driving in freezing fog hit the back of the dump truck I was on, causing a nine-car pileup with injuries. That’s not exactly the best way to start my track record.

        Then, throughout the years, I’ve had several minor incidents. You know the story - someone who doesn’t move over for those work lights on my truck ends up clipping my mirror, the back of a truck, or an extension of our paving machine. While they weren’t serious accidents, just a few inches further, and I could be writing a different story.

        But, the worst incident, and my most recent one, ended in tragedy. During an ice storm, I was assisting a woman who had slid off the road into the ditch. I was standing in front of my truck with the lights on watching for oncoming traffic so I could re-enter my vehicle. I saw an oncoming vehicle, who was driving too fast for conditions, lose control and slide in my direction. In that moment, I had to make a split-second decision to either run to the ditch or run to the barrier wall, and the ditch ended up being my path. The car struck the back of my truck with the driver’s side, slamming my truck about 60 feet forward and unfortunately, killing the driver instantly. If I hadn’t moved out of the way when I did, I would have been killed as well.

        Being a part of a moment like that was devastating, and it’s a moment that will always stay with me.

        Please, I cannot urge drivers enough, slow down for the conditions and move over when you see maintenance vehicles. And stay off the cell phone! It is probably one of the worst hazards I have seen.

        Just because there aren’t cones on the road, those lights still signal a work zone. Move over.

 

Preventable crashes

My name is Technical Trooper Chad Crittenden. I am the Public Resource Officer for south central Kansas. I have worked for the Kansas Highway Patrol for 17 years and have been stationed in Sedgwick County my entire career.  I have responded to thousands of preventable crashes over the years, many of which resulted in injuries or fatalities.

Motorists underestimate how dangerous it is to drive a car. They hop in, start the car and head to their destination, failing to understand how important it is to follow a few simple steps on the road: buckle their seat belt, obey the speed limit and not drive distracted. I see firsthand what happens when avoidable human error behind the wheel occurs. Many lives are affected during and after a crash.

As we drive on Kansas roadways, we encounter a lot of construction and maintenance zones. Though these zones are an inconvenience to some, they represent improvement and safer roadways in Kansas. But remember, the road is also “another day at the office” for maintenance workers and first responders. They put their lives in the motoring public’s hands every day, trusting they are attentive and aware.  We expect motorists not to drive distracted, drunk or even drowsy. Please don’t violate our trust.

When you see the next work zone ahead sign please remember: watch for workers, obey the traffic laws and please put the phone down. These easy steps can ensure our workers go home safely at the end of their shifts.

 

Too many close calls to even remember



KDOT employee Brian Link and his family.

        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.

 

2018 National Work Zone Awareness Week

Starting Monday, April 9, and running to Friday, April 13, new blogs will be posted each day as part of our National Work Zone Awareness Week series. Highway workers, contractors and law enforcement will share stories highlighting why work zone safety is so important.

Thanks for reading and sharing these blogs to help improve safety in work zones.

Also, Go Orange is on Monday, April 9, so please wear orange to show your support for everyone who works along the roadways. Orange lights will also be on all week at the following locations:

• KDOT District offices in Topeka, Salina, Norton, Chanute, Hutchinson, and Garden City, as well as several KDOT Area offices
• Governor’s Mansion in Topeka
• Amelia Earhart Memorial Bridge in Atchison
• Visitor’s Center in the Capitol
• Eisenhower State Office Building in Topeka
• Front of the Topeka City Hall building
• Travel Information Center on I-70 near Goodland
• Here are a few photos from last year -
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  Go ORANGE!