Roadside workers put their safety on the line at their hazardous job site, and over the last 10 years, 12 of these workers died and 221 were injured in B.C.
The BC Highway Patrol partnered with the Work Zone Safety Alliance and TELUS on Monday to raise awareness about the risks workers in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows face while working on or alongside the road.
A traffic enforcement blitz saw police monitor traffic around the work zone and ticket drivers for unsafe behaviours. Tickets can range from $196 for disobeying a flag person, $368 for using an electronic device while driving, or $483 for speeding.
The event was part of the BC Cone Zone campaign, which is supported by the alliance. Now in its 13th year, the campaign reminds employers, workers, and drivers to do their part to prevent deaths and injuries to roadside workers.
“A vehicle driving through a cone zone is one of the greatest risks to a roadside worker,” said campaign spokesperson Trace Acres, program director for Road Safety at Work. “Dangerous driving behaviour like speeding and distracted driving puts these members of our communities at risk of injury and death.”
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Cone zones are work areas set up by roadside workers to protect themselves and the driving public. Road maintenance crews, tow truck operators, first responders, municipal workers, traffic control persons, construction crews, and other roadside workers all depend on drivers to respect the cone zone to keep their workplaces safe, said Acres. Drivers need to slow down when driving through a cone zone and pay attention to instructions from traffic control persons, temporary road signs and traffic control devices. Stay focused on the road and leave the phone alone.
In addition, under BC’s “Slow Down, Move Over” law, drivers should be prepared to reduce speed and, if safe to do so, move over to an open lane when approaching a vehicle with flashing amber, red or blue lights (tow, fire, police).
“The Cone Zone campaign is a joint provincial initiative supported by the Work Zone Safety Alliance of organizations committed to improving the safety of roadside workers,” Acres said. “Until the number of fatalities and injuries is zero, we will continue to take action to protect roadside workers. We ask all drivers, and roadside employers and workers to do the same.”
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