National Work Zone Awareness Week (NWZAW) 2024
The Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) is hosting the 2024 NWZAW kickoff event on April 16 with the theme, "Work Zones are temporary. Actions behind the wheel can last forever.”
In 2021, 956 people died in work zones, according to the NHTSA FARS data. Also in 2021, 108 highway worker occupational fatalities occurred in road construction sites, based on BLS data. Data is available on WorkZoneSafety.org.
What many fail to recognize is the vast majority of people killed in work zone crashes are motorists and their passengers. In 2021, 778 drivers and their passengers died in work zones (based on NHTSA FARS data), making it all the more important for drivers to slow down and stay focused while approaching and passing through a roadway work zone.
NWZAW highlights the deadly dangers of inattention at highway work areas. The 2024 weeklong commemoration included:
- Work Zone Safety Training Day - April 15
- National kickoff event - April 16
- Go Orange Day - April 17
- Social media storm - April 18
- Moment of Silence - April 19. The moment of silence was started in 2022 to remember the men and women whose lives were lost in a work zone incident.
Learn more on how you can participate and make your voice count on the importance of work zone safety by visiting the National Work Zone Awareness Week website.
Resources
Motor vehicle safety is one of the most important things on the roadways, as millions of workers use them as part of their jobs, and motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of work-related deaths in the U.S.
- OSHA - Guidelines for Employers to Reduce Motor Vehicle Crashes
- NIOSH - Distracted driving (animated image) and Motor Vehicle Safety at Work
- NSC - Safe Driving Kit
- NHTSA - Distracted Driving (Distraction.gov)
- WHO - Mobile phone use: a growing problem of driver distraction
- CDC - Distracted Driving and Parents Are the Key to Safe Teen Drivers
- FHWA - Work Zone Facts and Statistics
- FMCSA - Work Zone Safety: Shareable Material
