"Don't be that driver!" - that's the theme for this year's "National Work Zone Awareness Week", which runs today through Friday.
Everyone from the Michigan Department of Transportation to state police are urging drivers to pay attention--- especially in work zones. "National studies show that over 95 percent of all crashes are the direct result of driver error," said First Lieutenant Jim Flegel of the MSP. "Work zones are dynamic places that can change from minute to minute, so motorists should slow down, use extra focus and not tailgate."
According to the latest data from workzonesafety.org, 11 fatalities happened in work zones in 2014 in Michigan.
Throughout the country in 2014:
- Driver and vehicle passengers accounted for 82 percent of work zone fatalities;
- 669 work zone traffic-related fatalities occurred (up 13 percent from 2013), with 46 crashes involving multiple fatalities;
- 31,251 work zone injuries occurred (a 9 percent increase from 2013);
- 116 worker fatalities occurred (a 9 percent increase from 2013); and
- 246 large trucks and buses (235 large trucks, 11 buses) were involved in fatal crashes in work zones (a 27 percent increase from 2013).
"The faces of people who are represented by crash statistics could be any one of us," said State Transportation Director Kirk T. Steudle. "Each one of those numbers represents a person who left behind parents, siblings, children, and friends who were devastated by their loss. The tragedy of these lost lives is unspeakable. Those that are lost in work zone crashes touch each of us personally because they were part of our industry and by extension, our lives."
You can also show your support for National Work Zone Awareness Week by wearing orange this Wednesday, April 13. To participate, share a photo on social media of you or your team wearing orange, including the hashtags #OrangeforSafety and #NWZAW.
