Raleigh was buzzing this week with safety vests and orange cones as the National Work Zone Awareness Week took the spotlight, an effort underscored by a campaign focused on the safety of those who daily risk their lives to improve North Carolina's roadways; in a move to draw drivers' eyes to the ever-present danger, state and federal transport officials convened at the State Fairgrounds to emphasize vigilance and responsibility on the part of all travelers. "If there's one message that should resonate with everybody today it's this, we are all responsible when it comes to work zone safety," NCDOT Secretary Joey Hopkins declared, in a sentiment echoed by roadway inspector BJ Drewery who appealed to drivers saying "As you drive through our work zone, keep me and my coworkers and those who drive through our work zone safe. As a husband, a father and a friend, I encourage you to navigate through the work zone safely."
The banner for the week's campaign, "Respect the zone so we all get home," not only urges but reminds us that safety is conjointly shouldered—every driver holds a piece of the puzzle to ensure return to kin; meanwhile, on the enforcement front, the NCDOT has not idled, partnering with the North Carolina Highway Patrol through the HAWKS Program, the acronym for Helping All Workzones Keep Safe, which fields off-duty law enforcement officers in work zones with the goal to maintain safety and smooth the flow of traffic. The NCDOT-backed initiative, which shells out a cool $2 million annually, dispatches these vigilant guardians across approximately 300 shifts monthly, policing projects selected on the basis of factors like past crash metrics, the velocity of traffic, and the load of vehicles hustling through the zones.
In an impressive tally from last year's efforts, the HAWKS surveilled 56 work sites and doled out around 31,000 citations, according to the department's report, a testament to the program's unwavering commitment to mitigating the hazardous dance between construction workers and moving vehicles, all, so every soul within the flashing signs and delineators can make it back to their respective havens at dusk.
