Work Zone Safety Works

Essential Resources to Help Avoid Work Zone Accidents

Whether a road is bypassed for bridge repairs or an entire intersection is closed for scheduled maintenance to a pedestrian walkway, we’ve all experienced a detour while traveling in Connecticut. Temporary narrowed traffic patterns, unfamiliar rights-of-way, restricted lanes, closed sidewalks, and other construction activities can result in accidents, injuries, and fatalities; incidents such as these also cause excessive traffic jams and delays. According to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), 857 people were killed and 44,240 more were injured in work zone crashes in 2020. Struck-by injuries are tragically serious and pose a severe danger to those working in or traveling in the vicinity of construction sites. 

As drivers, passengers, cyclists, motorcyclists, and pedestrians, it’s our collective responsibility to ensure safety in work zones. Road workers rely on their communities to keep them safe at work. CIRMA provides tailored public entity training for compliance and recommendations to promote driver safety for your employees.

CIRMA supports the U.S. Department of Transportation’s awareness efforts toward reducing roadway incidents and injuries in work zones and encourages its members to use the following resources to promote employee safety:

• U.S. Department of Transportation: Federal Highway Administration Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets & Highways
• CIRMA Chronicles: Chronicle #18 Work Zone Safety for Law Enforcement (available on CIRMA’s e-Learning platform) 
• Hot Zone Series for Fire Services: Traffic Control Program Safety Topic
• Roll Call Topics: Work Zone Safety for Law Enforcement
• Tail Gate Topics: Tail Gate Topics II – 80+ Topics for Improving Workplace Safety and Traffic Control

Has your municipality or school board taken advantage of the many benefits available through CIRMA’s exclusive online training and education platform?

 Visit CIRMA.org to access robust training options that feature awareness and statistics of vehicle accidents and provide best practices for safe driving operations. Contact your CIRMA Risk Management professional to get started today and set up an e-learning account. CIRMA e-learning is complimentary for CIRMA members and their employees.