For the 8th consecutive year, Barriere is proud to take part in National Work Zone Awareness Week (NWZAW), taking place April 17-21, 2023. We are once again joining organizations from around the globe to spread the important message that, together, we can build safer work zones for all.
At Barriere, people are our top priority, and safety is a core value as we work to construct roads and infrastructure necessary to maintain thriving communities. Because the majority of the work we do takes place in work zones on surface roads and highways, ensuring that we can make those roadways a safe space for our workers and the public is crucial. But safety is not just for our road crews. Wherever your work zone may be – in an office, behind the wheel of a vehicle, operating a piece of heavy machinery, in the rail yard, or on the water – we need to ensure that our work areas are safe. We all have a role to play in work zone safety, and together, we can build safe work zones for all.
Barriere’s commitment to participation in NWZAW was ignited by an incident in 2016 when a drunk driver entered one of our work zones and injured four of our team members. For us, this underscored the need for increased awareness of how to safely drive in work zones. Now, we use NWZAW as an annual opportunity to bring to light the dangers of distracted driving and remind drivers everywhere that road workers are people doing their jobs to support our community’s infrastructure. It’s up to all of us to help protect them as they work.
In 2020, 857 people were killed in 774 fatal work zone crashes in the United States, with the vast majority of fatalities being motorists, passengers and pedestrians. And 117 were road workers. This tragic loss of life demonstrates the importance of road work safety campaigns for everyone who uses roads, so that all drivers, walkers, cyclists and workers can safely navigate active work zones.
Will you work with us? Join in to help bring awareness to work zone safety by participating in NWZAW 2023.
Monday, April 17: NWZAW starts with Work Zone Safety Training Day and will kick off a weeklong virtual training series for the Barriere team.
Tuesday, April 18: Watch the National Work Zone Awareness Week 2023 kickoff event at 10 a.m. here.
Wednesday, April 19: Go Orange Day! Wear orange to proudly show support for work zone safety.
Thursday, April 20: Share messages on social media about the importance of work zone safety and use hashtags #NWZAW and #WorkZoneSafety throughout social media between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. CST.
Friday, April 21: Join a national moment of silence to remember and honor those who lost their lives in a work zone incident.
