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Press Release -- March 20, 2008
The "Vesting" of Delaware
Work Zone Safety Awareness Campaign Launch
Wilmington --
During a press conference held today in front of the Caesar Rodney statue, Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) Secretary Carolann Wicks announced that the bright-colored work zone safety vest adorning the Caesar Rodney statue is one of several public landmarks in Delaware that will get similarly "vested." DelDOT thanks the City of Wilmington for supporting this safety initiative.
The event was the kickoff to DelDOT naming April Work Zone Safety Awareness Month. The event also featured DelDOT employees sharing stories about working in the roadways, and urging motorists to pay attention to work zones.
Within the next week, the public will also hear hundreds of radio ads, see billboards on roadways and notice DART buses decorated with similar safety messages. These images include photos of children who tell motorists "Hey! My mommy works here!" The entire campaign is wrapped around a "Hey! We're working here!" advertising theme. All materials are available on DelDOT's Web site at www.deldot.gov.
"The advertising campaign is about more than catchy logos and creative phrases," said DelDOT Secretary Carolann Wicks. "It's about keeping roadway workers and motorists safe. Working in the roadway is not for the faint-hearted, nor for the thin-skinned. Our men and women must be vigilant every second they are on the job, so we ask that motorists also be vigilant as they approach these zones."
Statistics show that four out of five work zone fatalities are motorists, but since 1933 DelDOT has lost 32 workers in the line of duty, from bus drivers to maintenance workers. This includes three deaths in 2006, one occurring when a motorist assistance patrol worker who was pulled over to assist a motorist was struck and killed by an inattentive driver. The DelDOT employee was a husband and father of two.
"The losses, serious injuries and close calls occur far too often," said Wicks. "Our workers have families to go home to. This campaign helps remind us of the dangers of the work zone for motorists and workers, and we hope the end result will be fewer incidents overall."
A work zone is a second office for Area Engineer Rich Palmer, of Hockessin. Palmer has overseen many construction projects in his 14 years at DelDOT. Several years ago on Route 202 near Woodrow Avenue in Fairfax, a driver was so impatient, that instead of waiting for workers to put a steel plate over a trench, the motorist tried to drive over it. Well, not so much over it as into it: blowing two tires and adding hours more in delays. "I have seen wheel barrels fly out of the back of trucks, trucks backing over people, workers getting hit by falling light poles, and the list goes on," said Palmer, who has an 18-year-old son. "A construction site is not a safe place to be. Then you add on the factor of traffic near the work area, and you have a recipe for disaster." Rich has been in construction for over 20 years and has seen a lot of people get hurt on the job site. Most of the time it's because of impatience.
Penny Townsend of Dagsboro, an Engineering Technician II, is on the road every day in Sussex County inspecting utility work for DelDOT. In her 23 years on the job, she's seen some incidents and too many close calls. She recalls a time last year when a man who was upset about delays in a work zone got out of his car, stood in the middle of traffic on Double Bridges Road in Frankford and screamed at flaggers. A state trooper was called. Penny said she won't hesitate to call the police if a driver puts her project site in danger. "People need to slow down because something unexpected could happen," said Townsend. "If we've got to stop the traffic quickly there is going to be a rear end accident." She is married and has a 16-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son.
As an Engineering Technician III, Jay Pearson of Dover travels statewide inspecting pavement markings. Early one morning three years ago while he was working on a DelDOT project site on I-495 at the Christina River Bridge, a drunk driver crashed his vehicle into a contractor's sweeper truck - only a few cars ahead of Pearson. "When I pulled up to the scene, I found the pickup truck looking like an accordion," said Pearson. "The driver was trapped inside the truck; his chest was pinned by the steering wheel. The Jaws of Life had to come and cut him out of the truck. It took an hour and 20 minutes to free him." Besides the chest injury, the driver also had broken his legs. Pearson has worked for DelDOT for eight years, lives in the suburbs west of Dover, and is a father to three sons, aged 20, 22, and 25.
When traveling through a work zone, please pay careful attention to the traffic control devices present.
-When you see the "orange and black", please be extra cautious.
-Warning signs will let you know what to expect.
-Drums or cones will delineate your path of travel.
-Flag persons will help direct you along the way.
-Slow down and expect the unexpected.
The Work Zone Safety Campaign is the first of a three-part education campaign that will stretch out over the next year. The other components, which will launch later this year, focus on pedestrian and neighborhood safety. This three-pronged education effort is being funded with approximately $500,000 in new federal money that may be used for education purposes. DelDOT's target areas were identified in a September 2006 Strategic Highway Safety Plan, a cooperative multi-agency plan for improving safety and reducing fatalities on Delaware's highways. The goals of this campaign are to save lives of motorists, pedestrians and the men and women who work at and for DelDOT. RT&E Integrated Communications of Wilmington is working with DelDOT on the campaign.
For more information contact DelDOT Public Relations, at (302) 760-2080.
"Hey! We're working here!"
April is Delaware's Work Zone Safety Awareness Month
www.deldot.gov
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