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Give 'Em A Brake
KAPA-KRMCA Associate Director Wendy Harms, along with our industry partners, recently presented a check in support of the Kansas Department of Transportation “Give ’Em A Brake” program. Funds generated from the industry are used to promote work zone safety awareness throughout Kansas.
“Work zones crashes can happen quickly when motorists don’t slow down and pay attention,” said Deb Miller, KDOT Secretary of Transportation. “Motorists have complete control over these two factors. The added time that it takes to travel through a work zone is a small price to pay for enhanced safety.”
Since 1990, there have been 32,424 work zones crashes in Kansas that resulted in 257 fatalities and 13,885 injuries. Inattentive driving and speeding were the main causes of those crashes followed by failure to yield and following too closely. KDOT has lost three highway workers since June 2005. Following the death of the last worker – Ty Korte on U.S. 59 south of Lawrence – a work group was appointed by the agency to comprehensively identify changes/additions to current work zones that could result in a higher degree of safety to both workers and motorists. The group is looking at changes that KDOT could make and considering whether stronger state laws are needed. Work zone safety is just as important for motorists as it is for highway workers. Statistics annually show that motorists comprise four out of five of all deaths in highway work zones.
“Work zone safety is everyone’s job,” said Miller. “We want our highway workers and the traveling public to get home safely to their families.”
Highway work zones are a common sight with the arrival of spring as roadways are being improved for motorists. Traveling safely through those work zones will save lives.