Caltrans Asks Motorists To Move Over Or Slow Down Near Work Zones

Sacramento, CA, August 23, 2012, 8:00am – Caltrans, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) and construction industry contractors are calling on all Californians for their help in the ongoing effort to make highway work zones less dangerous for workers by moving over one lane, if it’s safe to do so, or slowing down when passing a maintenance or construction crew or emergency personnel stopped on the side of the freeway. In July alone, six motorists and contracted workers were killed – including three by drunk drivers – and multiple others injured in highway work zones. Caltrans meets regularly with contractors to discuss mutual safety concerns to make work zones safer, and Caltrans and the CHP work together to test the effectiveness of having multiple CHP vehicles in construction zones to monitor driver safety and enforce the speed limit and the Move Over Law. When feasible, Caltrans allows an extra buffer lane between workers and vehicles in specific construction zones, so that workers previously separated only by orange cones have more space between themselves and oncoming vehicles. Highway construction and maintenance work is one of the most dangerous occupations in the United States. Since the 1920s, 178 Caltrans employees have died while on the job.