The Work Zone Safety Alliance launched its 2012 Cone Zone campaign on July 3, an initiative designed to increase driver awareness when driving near roadside workers.
The campaign promotes reducing speed, avoiding driver distractions and respecting the roadside at construction sites, particularly when traveling through the “Cone Zone.”
“This is the busiest time of the year for road construction, so it is important for drivers to pay attention and avoid distractions in work zones,” said Blair Lekstrom, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure. “These workers are sons and daughters, fathers and mothers, and we want every one of them to return home to their families after work.”
Over the past decade, WorkSafeBC has received 386 claims from workers struck by motor vehicles; most of them were working in the cone zone.
Forty-six per cent of the claims were classified as serious injuries, while three per cent resulted in worker deaths.
“The difference between a near miss and a serious injury can often amount to little more than luck,” said Mark Ordeman, WorkSafeBC manager for transportation. “Many roadside workers have narrowly avoided being injured by drivers, and have come very close to having their lives changed by a workplace injury.”
For more information visit ConeZoneBC.com.
With files from WorkSafeBC.