Spring and summer are busy times for construction and other road-related activity, which brings an increased safety risk for roadside workers in Delta.
To help reduce the risk, the 12th annual province-wide B.C. Cone Zone campaign has launched with a call for drivers, employers, and workers to do their part to prevent injuries and deaths of roadside workers.
The campaign reminds local drivers to slow down when approaching a Cone Zone – an area set up by roadside workers to protect themselves and drivers from injury and death.
WorkSafeBC statistics show two roadside workers in the province were killed last year and 31 were injured and had to miss work after being hit by a vehicle. Over the last decade, 12 roadside workers lost their lives and 221 missed time from work due to injury.
“That’s 233 people -- mothers, fathers, friends, work colleagues, and neighbours,” says Trace Acres, Road Safety at Work program director and spokesperson for the Cone Zone campaign. “Every roadside worker in Delta and the rest of Metro Vancouver deserves to make it home to their family at the end of their shift without injury.”
Roadside workers are more than road maintenance and construction crews. They’re also first responders, municipal workers, traffic control persons, landscapers, tow truck operators, and others who work at or beside the roadside as part of their job.
The campaign aims to raise awareness of the dangers roadside workers face. One of the greatest risks is a motor vehicle driving through their workplace.
“Dangerous behaviours like speeding and distracted driving puts them at risk,” Acres says. Employers, workers, and all drivers each need to do their part to help keep them safe.
Obey traffic control persons for everyone’s safety
When entering a Cone Zone, drivers need to slow down, pay attention and follow instructions from traffic control persons, temporary road signs, and traffic control devices. And leave your phone alone, says Acres.
“A distraction of even a few seconds can have life-changing consequences.”
He encourages drivers to plan ahead.
“Listen to media reports before and during your drive and adjust your route to avoid work zones if possible,” he added.
If there is no speed limit posted in a roadside work zone, observe the regular posted speed limit on the roadway. If there are vehicles with red, blue, or amber flashing lights stopped at the roadside, the province’s “Slow Down, Move Over” law applies. It requires drivers to slow to 70 km/h if the posted speed limit is greater than 80 km/h. If the posted speed is less than 80 km/h, drivers need to slow to 40 km/h.
When travelling on a multilane road, the law says drivers should always be prepared move over to the left lane and increase the space between their vehicle and the work zone, if it’s safe to do so.
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.
