A Decade of Safety Success

National Work Zone Awareness Week began as a small event in a single state district, but has grown into a national program. As National Work Zone Awareness Week enters its second decade, this article describes how the campaign took root, what strategies have proven effective at improving safety, and what work remains to be done. The first Work Zone Awareness Week occurred in April 1997 in the Virginia Department of Transportation's (VDOT) Bristol District. The district's employee involvement team decided to spend a week focusing on work zone safety to raise employees' awareness before they went to work on the roads for the year. VDOT decided to take the campaign statewide in 1998, adding an external awareness component in recognition of the fact that motorists play an important role in reducing work zone crashes, injuries, and fatalities. Taking the program statewide and partnering with the police helped generate media attention. A VDOT official brought the campaign to the attention of federal officials, and by 1999, the American Traffic Safety Services Association, the Federal Highway Administration and American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials had signed an agreement to create the national campaign. The list of national partners quickly expanded. After the first national event, other States quickly joined in the effort by holding their own events, often following the model set by the national executive committee. Today virtually every State DOT holds an annual work zone awareness event. Not only did National Work Zone Awareness Week grow geographically, it grew in the use of symbols, guest speakers, and themes. Many states, including Virginia, have shown a decrease in work zone fatalities and an increase in public awareness since implementing National Work Zone Awareness Week events.

• Record URL:
  http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/publicroads/10mar/08.cfm
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/1586080
• Authors:
  • Scriba, Tracy
• Publication Date: 2010-3

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Photos; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 49-55
• Serial:
  • Public Roads
  • Volume: 73
  • Issue Number: 5
  • Publisher: Federal Highway Administration
  • ISSN: 0033-3735
  • Serial URL: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/publicroads/
• Publication flags:

  Open Access (libre)

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Construction and maintenance personnel; History; Safety campaigns; Special events; Work zone safety
• Identifier Terms: National Work Zone Awareness Week; Virginia Department of Transportation
• Subject Areas: Construction; Highways; Safety and Human Factors; I50: Construction and Supervision of Construction; I84: Personal Injuries;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01156752
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: May 24 2010 2:07PM