Motorists encouraged to pay more attention to those working roadside
The Work Zone Safety Alliance has launched a "Cone Zone" safety campaign in British Columbia to make drivers more aware of the dangers to workers in the “cone zone” or potentially high-risk environments that are located close to traffic.
Thousands of workers, including municipal workers, landscapers, tow-truck drivers, road-construction and road-maintenance workers, and emergency and enforcement personnel work close to traffic every day, said the organization.
The campaign is a provincial initiative supported by 16 organizations including WorkSafeBC. Its messages will encourage people to reduce their driving speeds and driver distractions and respect the roadside as a workplace.
The goal is to reduce the number of deaths and injuries of workers by increasing awareness of the vulnerability of people working at the side of the road in the zones, said the alliance.
“Safety is our number one priority and the ministry and our contractors work very hard to ensure both the safety of motorists and workers on all our projects throughout the province,” said Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Blair Lekstrom. “It’s going to be a busy construction season on and around our highways, so please drive with caution around roadside workers.”
In the last 10 years, 386 WorkSafeBC claims were made by workers who were struck by motor vehicles, usually working in cone zones. Of these claims, 46 per cent were classified as serious injuries and three per cent resulted in the death of the worker.
“Many times drivers don’t associate traffic cones with worker safety,” said Donna Wilson, WorkSafeBC vice-president of industry services and sustainability. “But it very much is. In collaboration with our partners, this initiative can help to reduce these dangers and the risk of injury to workers.”
