ALDOT officials urge caution in work zones

Published 6:30 am Tuesday, April 9, 2019

Billboards featuring Jake Smith’s picture have been going up in an effort to convince drivers to slow down and use caution in work zones.

Smith, a Muscle Shoals native and Athens resident, was one of two Alabama Department of Transportation workers hit by a vehicle April 14, 2016, as they were making repairs to the Tennessee River Bridge on Interstate 65. The other employee, Kenneth Hopper, was seriously injured. Smith was killed in the chain-reaction crash.

ALDOT Spokesman Seth Burkett said the billboards are being installed in conjunction with National Work Zone Awareness Week, a cause championed by ALDOT officials. He added the billboards are being used not only in the Huntsville area, but also statewide.

Gov. Kay Ivey issued a proclamation naming this week as National Work Zone Awareness Week. On Wednesday, the Retirement Systems of Alabama will light up its Mobile and Montgomery towers in orange as a show of support.

This year’s theme is “Drive Like You Work Here.”

According to ALDOT, work zone crashes were up in 2017 (3,158) over 2016 (2,962). There were 31 fatalities and 963 injuries in 2017, compared to 19 fatalities and 954 injuries in 2016. Nationally, 799 people were killed in work zone crashes in 2017, which was a 2 percent increase over the previous year.

Burkett said 2018 numbers were not yet available.

“There’s been a similar increase (in crashes) over the last four years,” he said. “It’s been going up by 100 to 200 crashes per year since 2014.”

A common misconception is that most of those killed in work zone crashes are workers, according to an ALDOT press release. National statistics show 4 out of every 5 of those killed are motorists.

Burkett said speed remains an issue, but distracted driving also poses a significant danger. ALDOT asks drivers to refrain from eating or other activities that take your hands off the wheel. Drivers are asked to look for highway workers, reduced speed limits and narrow driving lanes.

The department also offers these tips:

• Know before you go: Check ALGOTraffic.com to find out if there are construction work zones along your path and allow extra time to navigate those areas;

• Slow down: Don’t drive beyond the posted speed limit through the work zone. Keep a safe distance from the vehicle ahead of you; and

• Don’t tailgate and watch for large trucks: Maintain a safe distance on all sides of your vehicle so you don’t clip a nearby vehicle and both end up crashing in the work zone. Don’t make sudden lane changes in front of large trucks that often can’t stop quickly.

For more information on National Work Zone Awareness Week, visit https://bit.ly/1jYnmmm.