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Respect road workers in their office - new dvd drives home road worker safety

HIGHWAYS AGENCY News Release (HA48-08) issued by COI News Distribution Service. 4 November 2008

Every day thousands of road workers across the country put their trust in the hands of around 18 million other road users.

More than 4,000 road workers - approximately one for every mile of the Highways Agency's network - work day in, day out to keep the roads safe and well maintained for drivers.

With their safety in mind a new information DVD, which includes a hard-hitting short film called "Respect", as well as radio clips aimed at regular commuters (primarily those driving on business) has been developed by the Highways Agency, on behalf of the Road Workers' Safety Forum (RoWSaF), with its partners from Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the maintenance, construction and road safety industry, and THINK!
Voiced over by respected TV presenter Nick Ross (formerly of BBC's Crimewatch), the film highlights why drivers need to have respect for road workers and an appreciation of the consequences their actions could have.

The hard-hitting "Respect" film shows a car crashing through a busy classroom, an operating theatre during surgery and then into a coned off part of a road where people are at work - the car then collides with a road worker. The longer "5 seconds" film focuses on the driver on business and the possible cost of their actions at road works.

It is not only the driver that needs to act responsibly at road works; the industry - including the Highways Agency - has a major part to play. That is why the Agency is making available two £80,000 hi-tech mobile training vehicles, for other employers to keep their staff up to date with the latest health & safety and working practices.

Both the DVD and the vehicles can be used to spread the messages about safely driving near road works to staff, suppliers and the public.
The message is that road workers deserve space and respect to do their work as much as other professionals.

At the "Respect our Road Workers" campaign launch on the M1 J6a to J10 widening scheme in Hertfordshire, which boasts over 1.25 million hours worked without a reportable accident, Graham Dalton, Chief Executive of the Highways Agency, said:

"Between 2003 and 2007, 10 roadworkers were killed and 81 were seriously injured while working on motorways and major A roads in England. One accident is one too many, and these tragic incidents are avoidable. Road workers are out there doing a job to make journeys better for road users. They work close to moving traffic every day and deserve our respect for doing so. Our new toolkit is about encouraging drivers to use appropriate behaviour whilst driving through roadworks, to respect those working there and to help the construction and maintenance industry to do as much as it can for them too."

Derek Turner, Director for Network Operations in the Highways Agency, said:

"Driving safely through roadworks can save lives. Loss of life, or a serious injury, is a very real threat to these workers, and so is physical and verbal abuse. They are out there doing their job. The road is their office.

"Cones, barriers, signs and reduced speed limits are there for a reason - to protect our workers from danger and keep the public safe. I urge all drivers to pay close attention to safety when driving near roadworks."

Nick Ross said:

"Driving quickly through roadworks might not seem like a problem from inside your vehicle, but it's frighteningly quick if you're working on the carriageway, and careless driving represents a terrible danger to road workers."

Adrian Walsh, Director of RoadSafe (the road safety partnership responsible for delivering the Government's "Driving for Better Business" programme), attended the launch and presented Balfour Beatty-Skanska, contractors for the M1 J6a to J10 widening scheme, and the Highways Agency with a Prince Michael International Road Safety Award. He said:

"Those who work on the roads deserve our respect. The Highways Agency is at the forefront of those working to improve road safety. Commitment to the safety of their road workers and contractors as well as that of the travelling public, is a vital part of their Road Safety Action Plan.

"Their new toolkit "Respect our Road Workers" is an excellent resource to assist local authorities and businesses in educating and informing their staff about the safety of road workers.

"The Highways Agency and its contractor's introduction of an average speed enforcement system for the M1 widening scheme, which ran for 3 years, delivered a real improvement to road worker and motorist safety. It eliminated fatalities and reduced injuries by 54 per cent in each year of the road works operation. Its success has been recognised by a Prince Michael International Road Safety Award."

For more information about the "Respect our Road Workers" campaign, visit

http://www.highways.gov.uk/roadworker

There are six simple messages for drivers near road works:

1: Keep within the speed limit - it is there for your safety.
2: Get into the correct lane in good time - don't keep switching.
3: Concentrate on the road ahead, not the roadworks.
4: Be alert for works traffic leaving or entering roadworks.
5: Keep a safe distance - there could be queues in front.
6: Observe all signs - they are there to help you.