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2023 National Work Zone Awareness Week
“Work With Us”
Motto reminds drivers safety is everyone’s responsibility
By Rindi White
2023 National Work Zone Awareness Week
“Work With Us”
Motto reminds drivers safety is everyone’s responsibility
By Rindi White
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pril 17 through 21 was National Work Zone Awareness Week, an annual event held as the road construction season begins that aims to bring attention to the importance of work zone safety and the risks for both roadway workers and the traveling public of traveling through work zones. Statistically, the people most likely to be killed in work zone incidents are motorists and people in their vehicles, according to information from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

On April 17 the Missouri Department of Transportation, or MoDOT, hosted the kickoff event for National Work Zone Awareness Week, or NWZAW. Gloria Shepherd, executive director for the Federal Highway Administration, or FHWA, joined MoDOT officials in reminding drivers there and around the nation to keep highway workers safe as the season progresses.

“We intend to use every program and funding option at our disposal under the bipartisan Infrastructure Law to make our surface transportation safer, including in areas where repairs, maintenance, and construction are underway,” Shepherd said at the event. “The safety of highway workers and others on roads, bridges, and highways across the country is FHWA’s number-one priority.”

Key sponsors of National Workzone Awareness Week include:
logos of key sponsors of National Workzone Awareness Week
logos of key sponsors of National Workzone Awareness Week
Nationally, the rate of work zone traffic fatalities has not substantially improved over the last 10 years.
Fatalities in roadway work zones increased nearly 11 percent from 2020 to 2021, with deaths rising from 863 to 956, according to newly released federal data. Drivers and passengers accounted for 778 of the 956 fatalities for 2021, data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System, or FARS, shows.

The week-long safety recognition celebration included several opportunities for engagement:

  • April 17 – Work Zone Safety Training Day in which companies were encouraged to pause during the workday for safety demonstrations, discussions about safety policies, and other prevention steps to protect people in work zones.
  • April 19 – Go Orange Day when everyone was encouraged to wear orange to show support for work zone safety and the families of victims who have lost their lives in work zones. Photos were posted on social media tagged #NWZAW and #Orange4Safety.
  • April 20 – Social Media Storm in which organizations, companies, agencies, and individuals shared messages and used hashtags #NWZAW and #WorkZoneSafety throughout social media.
  • April 21 – Moment of Silence, when people took a moment to remember those who lost their lives in a work zone incident.
Rindi White is the editor of The Alaska Contractor magazine. Feature photo by Katie Corley, iStock. Art and infographics provided by U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration.
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