Taylorsville, UT — “Pay more attention and slow down, knowing that there’s the lane closure.”
Utah Department of Transportation worker Michael Berry makes that request in a recent video created to increase driver awareness in roadway work zones.
Berry, supervisor of UDOT’s maintenance shed in Tooele, describes a scenario in which a night crew was performing crack-seal work on a busy road to prevent potholing. Although standard signs and barricades were in place and crew members were wearing high-visibility clothing, workers still saw many drivers encroaching on them or neglecting to slow down.
“If you see road-work signs and flashing lights, slow down and move over,” Dani Marble, a transportation tech at UDOT’s maintenance shed in Logan, said in a press release. “We’re just trying to do our job.”
UDOT asks drivers to:
- Expect the unexpected and watch for changing traffic patterns.
- Minimize distractions, dedicating your full attention to the road.
- Allow crews room to safely do their work.
- Keep a safe distance between your vehicle and traffic barriers, trucks, construction equipment and workers.
- Avoid unnecessary lane changes and don’t pass on the shoulder or drive across the median.
Data from Injury Facts, an online source of preventable death and injury statistics compiled by the National Safety Council, shows that 891 people were killed in work zone crashes in 2022.
