National Work Zone Awareness Week Deemed a Success

A host of major transportation organizations participated in an event kicking off the Fourth Annual National Work Zone Awareness Week in early April, highlighting the unmistakable fact that more than four out of five people killed in work-zone accidents are motorists.

This national event, concurrent with numerous state DOT events, featured U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.); Federal Highway Administrator Mary Peters; American Association of State Highway & Transportation Officials' President James Codell; Kathi Holst, president of the American Traffic Safety Services Association; District of Columbia Director Dan Tangherlini; Deputy Transportation Secretary Pierce Homer of Virginia; Neal Pederson, acting director of the Maryland State Highway Administration; and Olympic gymnastics gold medalist Dominique Dawes speaking on behalf of young-driver safety for the American Road & Transportation Builders Association.

Held at Freedom Plaza in Washington, D.C., the event featured the display of the National Work Zone Memorial and 1,079 traffic cones arranged in a huge triangle, representing the number of people killed in construction zones in 2001, the most recent year for which fatality statistics are available.

"These cones serve as a reminder of the real tragedy—each one of these deaths was preventable," said Peters.

Robert Bell, an Elmira, N.Y., man who attended the national event to see his son Don's name on the National Work Zone Memorial maintained by ATSSA, described his son's demise in an interview.

"The person who hit my son had other things on his mind," Bell said. "People just don't pay attention."

Bell's 24-year-old-son was killed five years ago when his car was struck from behind by an inattentive driver in a work zone, the most common type of construction zone accident.

Rep. Inslee, who is sponsoring a measure to provide federal funding for highway-worker training, driver safety education and more physical barriers to keep vehicle traffic from encroaching on work zones, spoke of the importance of "getting people home to their families every night" regardless of whether they are motorists or highway workers.

FHWA Administrator Peters said motorists need to do their part even as state and federal officials strive to make highway work sites as safe as possible for everyone. With the interstate system about 50 years old, and other road and bridge systems needing work, nearly 13% of the National Highway System is under construction during peak summer roadwork months, she said. "Repairs and improvements are needed on our nation's streets and highways to enhance safety and mobility," said Peters. "Each year, too many people are killed in work-zone crashes."

ATSSA's Holst added, "unfortunately, the statistics speak for themselves. The number of people killed on our roadways is too high. The number of people killed in work-zones is too high.

"The battle to drive these numbers down must continue to be one of the primary focuses for the roadway safty industry and the motoring public."

Dawes, who is a spokesperson for ARTBA's "Roadway Work-Zone Safety Campaign for New Drivers," commented on the importance of educating young drivers on the hazards of driving through construction work zones.

"Eight out of 10 of those killed in roadway construction zones are motorists and some are young drivers. Many young people fail to realize that orange warning signs indicate hazards ahead and fail to slow down or become too distracted," said Dawes.

"A great tragedy occurs when so many young lives are cut short and young men and women do not get a chance to achieve their goals and dreams. I am involved because I want to help educate young drivers about the hazards associated with driving through construction zones, and hopefully reduce the number of accidents and injuries that occur at these sites."

OOCEA Wins Engineering Project of Year Award

The Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority was honored with the 2003 Engineers' Week Engineering Project of the Year Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers.

The ASCE nominated the OOCEA for State Road 429, the Western Expressway, Part C, Phase I. This $115 million project includes the completion of the SR 429 Turnpike Interchange, the largest roadway ever built in Central Florida.

Not Guilty Verdict Reached in IRD Worker's Death

Shortly before press time, a jury found Stacy Bettcher not guilty in the first trial of a new Michigan state law that provides stiff penalties for motorists who kill or injure highway construction workers.

Bettcher was charged with causing the death of Tanya Loewen in an Aug. 9, 2002, crash. The Michigan law, known as "Andy's Law," named for Andrew Lefko, a 19-year old worker who was severely injured on a construction project, took effect in July 2002 and allows prosecutors to charge drivers who kill workers in posted construction areas with a 15-year felony. Motorists who injure workers face up to a year in jail.

According to police reports, Bettcher, who had a restricted driver's license, was driving about 80 mph on I-94 in Macomb County's Harrison Township when her car went onto the shoulder and hit Loewen and co-worker Bill Hattan, both employees of International Road Dynamics, who were in the process of setting up a work zone in the area.

Besides the charge of causing the death of a road construction worker, the jury had the option of finding Bettcher guilty of vehicular manslaughter or negligent homicide, according to an AP report. She also faced a charge of causing injury to a construction worker. She was found not guilty of all charges.

Bettcher's lawyer argued that his client swerved onto the shoulder to avoid hitting a truck that had braked suddenly in front of her. The lawyer also claimed the area was not clearly marked so his client did not know it was a construction area.

TM+E contacted Terry Bergan, president of IRD, who acknowledged his disappointment after hearing the verdict.

"The results from the investigation for IRD and other contractors involved was that we did nothing wrong," said Bergan.

According to IRD, there were people on the construction site from the other contractor, Delco, the Michigan DOT, as well as the Sheriff's Department. A separate company responsible for signage directing motorists around the work zone also was present.

"There were thousands of vehicles that went through that construction zone and obeyed the signs, it wasn't a low-volume construction site," said Bergan. "The lineup of vehicles was from a long way's back and they all merged into the lane and were able to negotiate by," added Bergan.

According to court reports, two other drivers in the area at the time of the crash testified they did not see the brake light of the truck that Bettcher said she swerved to miss. They also added that they did not see the truck slow down.

Gary Naeyaert of the Michigan Road Builders Association and a friend of Hattan said, "We're outraged. To say we are disappointed is an understatement. The message is, it's open season on road construction workers in Macomb County. As far as drivers are concerned, these people can be treated like nothing but orange road barrels with arms and you can knock them over if they get put in your way."                                                                    TME