Work Zone Safety, Driver Attentiveness To Get Extra Attention This Week

NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) – TxDOT and departments of transportation across the country are launching a week-long campaign to save lives in construction zones on roads and highways. National Work Zone Awareness Week runs Monday, April 8 through Friday, April 12. During this time, TxDOT will be partnering with law enforcement and safety advocates to ask drivers to stay alert and slow down when driving through work zones on Texas roadways.

In 2018, Texas saw 25,162 work zone traffic crashes, resulting in 161 fatalities and 684 serious injuries. Of those fatalities, 84 percent were drivers or their passengers, TxDOT said in a news release Sunday. At any given time, Texas has as many as 3,000 active work zones across the 80,000 miles of road TxDOT maintains. Since the leading causes of work zone crash in Texas are speeding and driver inattention,

TxDOT asks people behind the wheel to avoid distractions, put their phones away, obey road crew flaggers, slow down, and follow posted work zone speed limits. To safeguard roadside crews and first responders, the state’s Move Over/Slow Down law also requires drivers to move over a lane or reduce their speed to 20 mph below the posted limit when they see flashing blue or amber lights on a TxDOT vehicle, emergency vehicle, tow truck, or law enforcement stopped on the roadside or shoulder.