The Cone Zone campaign is back!

Photo of cones set up along100th Street.

The annual Cone Zone campaign is back and urging our readers to pay extra attention and slow down while operating a vehicle in work zones and near roadside workers.

“Every time you drive through a roadside work zone, you’re not just passing cones and barriers. You’re in someone’s workplace,” says Trace Acres, Program Director for Road Safety at Work, which manages the campaign with the support of the Work Zone Safety Alliance. “Just like you, these workers deserve to be safe in their workplace. Slow down and pay attention. Work zones are temporary but our actions behind the wheel can last forever.”

Roadside workers consist of traffic control persons, road maintenance crews, utility workers, landscapers, paramedics and police officers, tow operators, waste collectors, and many more who work in vulnerable positions with traffic passing within meters of them.  “Most crashes are preventable,” says Acres. “Roadside workers do jobs that help the rest of us, and we can show our respect and appreciation by giving them the space they need to work safely.”

Nine roadside workers have been killed, while another 251 have been injured severely since 2014 according to WorkSafeBC statistics.

“Drivers need to keep roadside workers safe by obeying the law in construction zones, following speed limits, and staying alert for workers doing their job. They deserve our respect and to return home safely at the end of each workday to their families and loved ones. These workers help keep drivers safe and provide a vital service as we maintain and improve British Columbia’s highways,” said Rob Fleming, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure.

Our readers are reminded that BC law requires all individuals driving through roadside work zones to obey traffic control personnel, devices, and road signs while slowing down to pay attention and leave their phones alone. According to roadsafetyatwork.ca, unsafe driving in work zone penalties range from $121 to $368.

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