The Iowa Department of Transportation is observing National Work Zone Awareness Week this week, featuring this year’s theme of “Respect The Work Zone So We All Get Home.”
This is the 26th anniversary of the awareness campaign to help the public understand their role in keeping motorists and roadway workers safe.
The significance of safe travel through work zones resonated deeply last year when a work zone tragedy took the life of a DOT staff member in southwestern Iowa.
Pete Hjelmstad is a spokesperson for the Iowa DOT.
“Concentrate on driving. Stay away from distractions. Make sure you wear your seatbelt. Slow down. Especially in the work zones. Give yourself room between the vehicle in front of you and yourself. Three out of four crashes in work zones are rear end crashes and that happens mainly because people are following too closely and the car in front of them has to stop quickly and you don’t have time to react. You know it is really, really basic stuff but unfortunately sometimes it gets overlooked. You do those things. You slow down, you wear your seatbelt and you concentrate on driving, you’re going to get through it pretty safely.”
Statistics from the National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse show that in 2022 there were 821 fatal crashes in work zones resulting in 891 deaths including 94 roadway workers who were also killed in work zones that year.
