August 31, 2012

Ontario online work zone safety campaign hits one year

TORONTO

Just over a year ago the “Safety: A Two Way Street” online campaign was launched in Ontario which aimed to put a human face on safety in work zones across the province.

The campaign encourages road workers to post pictures of themselves and their families and stories and personal appeals to drivers to slow down.

LIUNA Local 183 and the Ontario Road Builders’ Association support the online initiative to drive efforts for a safer construction season.

People can visit www.facebook.com/SafetyATwoWayStreet or twitter.com/#!/SafeRoadWorkers to see the safety messages and stories.

Between 2000 and 2006, 52 people were killed and more than 2,800 were injured in construction work zones on Ontario roadways, according to provincial statistics.

On average, 2,100 collisions occur each year in Ontario roadway construction zones.

A 2005 study called Characteristics of Work Zone Crashes and Fatalities in Canada reported that 79 per cent of all work zone related fatalities in Canada occurred on rural roads, with 52 per cent occurring on rural undivided highways.

The study analyzed statistics generated between 1997 and 2001 provided by the Transport Canada Traffic Information Database.

The study also found that drivers between the ages of 25 and 44 were over-represented in work zone crashes compared to all traffic crashes.

Also, the percentage of male drivers involved in crashes and fatalities is higher in work zones than in all traffic crashes.

The vast majority of crashes (66.3 per cent) in work zones between 1997 and 2001 occurred under clear weather conditions while 17.3 per cent occurred under snowy conditions.

When it came to light conditions, 65.1 per cent occurred during the day, 23 per cent under dark conditions and 7.3 per cent under artificial lighting.

DCN NEWS SERVICES

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