Oregon’s Transportation Safety Month is coming to a close, but work zone safety is important all year! As a responsible driver, be sure to familiarize yourself with these important work zone safety tips:
Engineering
Temporary work zones may narrow roads and alter road conditions, which can take more time to navigate. Even without workers or equipment present, pay extra attention, be patient, and use caution.
Enforcement
To safeguard both drivers and workers, expect to find extra patrol presence in work zone areas—plus double fines for traffic violations.
Education
Take the time to learn the specific laws and be aware of the unexpected circumstances that can occur without warning in work zones. Keep your headlights on, merge properly, don’t tailgate, and obey all posted signs and speed limits.
Emergency Medical Services
In case of an emergency, don’t impede traffic flow through the work zone. If you are driving up behind a police car or emergency vehicle pulled over on the roadside with emergency lights flashing, you must move over. If you can’t safely change lanes, slow down. In all cases, remember to provide as much room as possible for the emergency vehicle.
Orange is Your Clue to Safety in Work Zones
In Oregon, our highways and interstates are on the road to improvement, thanks to annual construction and maintenance along with more than $3 billion in construction work that will continue over the next several years. But with improvement comes an increase in the number of work zones, potential delays and crashes that occur on our roadways.
Know the Facts About Work Zone Safety.
Fatalities
In a work zone crash, the people who are most often killed or injured aren’t working on the road—they’re riding in the car.
Fines
Because work zones can be hazardous to both workers and drivers, traffic fines are doubled—regardless if there are workers or “fines double” signs posted at the site or not. If you’re caught speeding or breaking the law in a work zone, be prepared to pay.
Foresight
Almost half of all work zone crashes occur in the transition zone before the work area. So, as you approach a work zone, remember to slow down, stay alert, and obey all directional signs and flaggers.
Three Easy Ways to Avoid Delays
Learn more about Oregon roadway conditions with these helpful trip-planning resources.
www.TripCheck.com
A visit to this site before your trip can help you avoid traffic snags, work zone delays or hazardous road conditions.
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Dial 511 or 1-800-977-6368
Dial 511 or 1-800-977-6368Call for the latest on traffic, weather and highway conditions by route, major city or mountain pass. Simply speak or press the keys on your touch-tone phone and get the answers you need.
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www.TripCheck.com/mobile
If your mobile phone is web-enabled, traveler information can be formatted for your device.
May is Oregon Transportation Safety Month! Information provided by the Oregon Department of Transportation.