Well-kept roads are safe roads, and that’s why highway improvement projects are indispensible necessities for New Jersey. But what happens when those safety efforts actually create danger for the very people who are asked to keep our roads in shape?
Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happens in work zones all across New Jersey. Roadway workers risk life and limb when toiling away in narrow lanes and skinny shoulders as high-speed automobiles rush by. All too often, they suffer catastrophic injury or even death.
This month, from March 23 – 27, we observe National Work Zone Awareness Week all across the United States. It’s a concerted effort to remind motorists that they have a duty to exercise great care when traveling through designated work zones. A little extra caution could go a long way in saving lives.
Most Work Zone Accidents Are Preventable
Like most auto accidents, work zone-related injuries happen suddenly and without warning. Speed is a common factor. Even where other causes are to blame, the overwhelming majority of work zone accidents are entirely preventable. It is a tragedy, then, that so many continue to happen.
This year, the official motto for National Work Zone Awareness Week is “expect the unexpected,” and that’s an important message for both workers and drivers to bear in mind.
When you assume that you very well could strike a worker, you will actually be less likely to. That’s because you’re actively preventing your mind from carelessly drifting from the task at hand, a vice that leads to the majority of work zone accidents.
Experts insist that it really is that simple — just slow down in work zones, pay attention, and be careful.
Keeping New Jersey’s Work Zones Safe for Everyone
As an auto accident injury attorney in New Jersey, our office is eager to see a reduction in the rate of work zone accidents across our whole state. We know first hand how devastating these accidents can be, and we also understand how big a difference even a little awareness can make.
Let’s take the opportunity this month to recommit to exercising caution in work zones, to sharing the roads respectfully with those who are improving them, and to always “expecting the unexpected.”