April 7-11 marks the 15th Annual National Work Zone Awareness Week and Jeremy Woodrow with the Alaska Department of Transportation said work zone accidents have gone down.
Woodrow: “Prior to 2009 there actually were around 80 per year, so they’ve actually been going down, that’s been the trend.”
Woodrow said that currently Alaska is averaging about 50 road work zone accidents a year.
He added that the best way to avoid accidents in construction zones is to check for delays when planning a trip.
Woodrow: “It always helps to be aware of work zones before your heading out. So folks are definitely over the summer if they are going to long distance drives it’s always a good idea to go onto 511.alaska.gov or to the alaskanavigator.org websites to just see what construction zones they may be approaching. A lot of times when work zone accidents happen its either from distracted drivers or from drivers that are driving too fast because maybe they’re behind schedule and they’re trying to make up lost time so they don’t slow down and adhere to the posted safety limits.”
He added that this awareness week is a two-way street and the State works to ensure that their employees are trained to set up safe work zones that properly notify drivers of what’s ahead.