National Work Zone Awareness Week

WHEREAS, road construction and maintenance are essential to building and preserving a system of State, U.S. and Interstate highways and local roads; and

WHEREAS, work zones present a challenge and potential danger to all motorists and construction and maintenance workers, and improvements in safety, education and driver behavior will make Alabama’s highways safer; and

WHEREAS, there were more than 2,970 crashes in Highway Work Zones in Alabama in 2010, resulting in more than 825 injuries and at least 22 fatalities; and

WHEREAS, this data indicates more crashes, injuries and fatalities in work zones in 2010 than 2009, when there were 2,373 work zone crashes, resulting in 682 injuries and 10 fatalities; and

WHEREAS, in 2010 Alabama saw its first increase in work zone fatalities since 2005, when the number of work zone fatalities rose to 49 from 33 in 2004; and

WHEREAS, four out of five people killed in work zones are drivers and passengers, illustrating that the greatest danger is not to workers but to the traveling public; and

WHEREAS, leading causes of work zone crashes include alcohol, speeding and distraction; and

WHEREAS, state agencies, road builders, contractors and local officials are joining together statewide to heighten awareness about the dangers of driving in work zones and to encourage motorists to drive with caution to make Alabama’s highways safer:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Robert Bentley, Governor of Alabama, do hereby do proclaim April 4 through April 8, 2011, as

National Work Zone Awareness Week

in the State of Alabama and encourage everyone to consider the safety of the motorists and workers in work zones this week and every day.

Given Under My Hand and the Great Seal of the Office of the Governor at the State Capitol in the City of Montgomery on the 14th day of March 2011.

 

      

Governor Robert Bentley