NJ Laborers Union Offers Safe Driving Tips

MONROE TOWNSHIP, N.J., April 5 -- In recognition of National Work Zone Awareness Week -- April 8-12, 2002 -- the New Jersey Laborers Union is asking the motoring public to be safe and proceed carefully in and around roadway construction projects.

New Jersey Work Zone Awareness Week was founded with the purpose of urging motorists and work zone workers to take basic steps to help save lives and prevent injuries in work zones. Participants in New Jersey include the NJ Department of Transportation, the NJ State Police, the Associated General Contractors of New Jersey, the Utility and Transportation Contractors Association and the NJ Laborers Union.

According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration statistics, 1,093 people died in work zone accidents in 2000, the last year of complete data. This is a 26 percent increase from the year before and a cause of great concern to New Jersey residents.

While roadway work zones often seem like nothing more than an inconvenience to the motoring public, the road work being done is necessary to maintaining roads and providing people safe and efficient transit. Oftentimes, the only thing protecting workers from speeding traffic is a painted stripe, a cone, or a barrel.

During New Jersey Work Zone Safety Awareness Day the NJ Laborers Union is asking motorists to take the following actions when entering work zones:

Stay alert. Dedicate your full attention to the roadway. Pay close attention to signs and work zone flaggers. Turn on headlights. Workers and motorists must see you. Do not tailgate. Do not speed. Slow down to posted limits. Keep up with the traffic flow through work zones. Do not change lanes in work zones. Minimize distractions in vehicles. Avoid changing radio stations and using mobile phones.

Expect the unexpected. Keep an eye on workers and their equipment. Be patient. Remember work zones are necessary to improve roads and make them safer. The New Jersey Laborers Union is one of the state's largest unions with more than 20,000 members specializing in heavy, highway, and building construction, asbestos removal, and hazardous waste remediation.