BURNABY, BC, July 4, 2012 /CNW/ – The Work Zone Safety Alliance has launched their 2012 Cone Zone campaign — a road safety initiative that encourages drivers to take care when driving near roadside workers. The campaign encourages drivers to reduce their speed, avoid driver distraction, and respect the roadside as a workplace when driving through the “Cone Zone.”
“This is the busiest time of the year for road construction, so it is important for drivers to pay attention and avoid distractions in work zones,” said Transportation and Infrastructure Minster Blair Lekstrom. “These workers are sons and daughters, fathers and mothers, and we want every one of them to return home to their families after work.”
This year, drivers can visit ConeZoneBC.com for more information. The new website is a driver resource with tips and helpful information about safely navigating through roadside work zones.
For roadside workers the “Cone Zone” is a potentially high-risk work environment in close proximity to traffic. In the last ten years, WorkSafeBC has received 386 claims from workers — typically working in Cone Zones — who were struck by motor vehicles. Of the claims, 46 per cent were classified as serious injuries and three per cent resulted in the death of the worker.
Every day roadside workers around the province experience near misses — incidents that do not result in workplace injury, but had the potential to do so.
“The difference between a near miss and a serious injury can often amount to little more than luck,” says Mark Ordeman, WorkSafeBC manager for Transportation. “Many roadside workers have narrowly avoided being injured by drivers, and have come very close to having their lives changed by a workplace injury.”
The summer months see an increase in roadside work throughout the province. These set-ups are not always road construction. Municipal workers, landscapers, tow-truck drivers, telecommunications and utility workers, and emergency and enforcement personnel set up “Cone Zones”.
When you enter the “Cone Zone,” reduce your speed, pay attention, and be respectful of the roadside workers and their workplace.
For more information visit ConeZoneBC.com.
Editor’s Notes:
The “Cone Zone” message expands beyond the messages of two other initiatives — WorkSafeBC’s “Slow Down” signage campaign aimed at large construction projects, and the provincial government legislation that requires drivers to “slow down and move over” when approaching emergency vehicles stopped at the side of the road — to encompass all roadside workers.
About the Work Zone Safety Alliance:
The Cone Zone campaign is a joint provincial initiative supported by organizations committed to improving the safety of roadside workers. They are the BCAA Road Safety Foundation, BC Ambulance Service, BC Construction Safety Alliance, BC Flagging Association, BC Hydro, BC Landscape and Nursery Association, BC Municipal Safety Association, B.C. Road Builders and Heavy Construction Association, FortisBC, IBEW258, ICBC, Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General, Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, RDM Enterprises, Actsafe, Telus, The Community Against Preventable Injuries, Automotive Retailers Association, Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services, Lower Mainland police, and WorkSafeBC.
About WorkSafeBC:
WorkSafeBC is an independent provincial statutory agency governed by a board of directors that serves about 2.3 million workers and more than 200,000 employers. WorkSafeBC was born from the historic compromise between B.C.’s workers and employers in 1917 where workers gave up the right to sue their employers and fellow workers for injuries on the job in return for a no-fault insurance program fully paid for by employers. WorkSafeBC is committed to safe and healthy workplaces and to providing return-to-work rehabilitation and legislated compensation benefits.