Just a few short weeks ago, we held our annual Worker's Memorial to honor  our fallen workers and remind everyone about the importance of work zone safety. This event leads into our Give 'em a Brake program, the marketing effort to encourage safe work zone driving.

The men and women working to improve your highways work just feet from live traffic, from inattentive drivers.

Two of those workers were hurt within five hours early May 5.

Just after midnight, a vehicle struck one of our trucks that was parked on southbound Interstate 5 just south of Interstate 90 in the Seattle area. The car then fled the scene. Less than five hours later, a vehicle hit another one of our trucks on I-5 in the Chehalis area. Both employees were taken to the hospital, but are okay.

What were these employees working on? The first was part of a striping crew, adding a fresh coat of reflective paint to make it easier for drivers to see the road. The second was sweeping the highway. They were both protected by truck-mounted attenuators (TMAs). You can see a photo of the damage done by one the cars here.

Our workers improve road conditions and expand roads, keeping traffic and the economy moving. Do your part – give 'em a brake. Slow down and pay attention when driving through a work zone. Find more work zone driving tips.

Is orange your color? This week, yes.

Many of us just can’t pull off orange. And that’s the point, really. Orange is something you notice – something that gets your attention. So it’s time again to get drivers attention.

This week is National Work Zone Awareness Week, the week where transportation and safety groups remind drivers why they should slow down and pay attention when driving through work zones. It’s the week to remind you that the men and women working out there on the roadway just want to go home at the end of their shift to family and friends.

Tragically, some don’t. WSDOT honors the memory of those lost, and looks toward a future when every employee makes it home safely each day.

See orange, pay attention. See orange, slow down.

If you don’t want to do it for the worker, do it for yourself and those you love.

Why? Four out of five victims in a work-zone crash are a motorist.

We would like to thank all those going orange for work zone safety. Many of our partner agencies helped spread the word this year.

And a special thanks to those whose orange attire may have required a step outside the comfort zone.

From guest blogger Jeff Adamson

Kris Sandgren and the bike he plans to ride across the country

You’re getting this update because I’m shamelessly taking advantage of a Missouri DOT bicyclist’s twisted idea of a 3-week vacation – Riding from Anacortes to Jefferson City, Missouri  (via SR 20) – to raise money for a Work zone Safety Memorial in his state.  Kris Sandgren expects to cover about 100 miles a day as he works his way across the state and then on into Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and Missouri.  (If you see him – wave, honk, give him a thumbs-up or buy him a cinnamon roll!)

Work Zone Safety week in Washington was back on April 19- 23.  Kris’s ride provides a perfect opportunity to raise the awareness of work zone safety here, in the middle of the construction season when our contractors employees and our WSDOT inspectors are most at risk.  You may recall that this year, the method we (and the rest of the country) chose to support the men and women who work just feet from “live” traffic to improve our highways was by Going Orange.

Kris got to Anacortes Sunday and heads 2,500 miles to the east Tuesday morning.  His motivation is understandable – He knew some of the Missouri work zone victims, personally.
Work zone safety is something we take seriously, too. Since 1950, 57 Washington State Department of Transportation employees have lost their lives in work zone-related activities.

This isn’t the first time Kris has done this ride. Last time it was for himself. This time it’s for his friends and coworkers who’ve died in roadside work zones. He’s riding to raise some of the $94,000 needed for Missouri’s first Fallen Worker’s Memorial.  Missouri has lost 128 employees in work zones.

He got a little publicity before he left Missouri – here’s the story: www.kspr.com/news/local/94810014.html