By WHITNEE ICE
St. Joseph Post
This week is National Work Zone Awareness Week.
The Missouri Department of Transportation saw an increase of 33% in TMA (Truck Mounted Attenuators; trucks specially made with crash-absorbing materials) crashes in 2020 compared to 2019, most often caused by speeding and distracted driving.
District Engineer Chris Redline says he’s not quite sure why there was an increase in work zone crashes.
“You would think that with less traffic last year because of reduced travel because of the pandemic that crashes would go down but we actually say an increase in our fatalities too,” Redline tells St. Joseph Post.
Redline says construction projects increase coming out of winter.
“The public is going to see a lot of cones, work zones, arrow boards, all kinds of stuff out there,” says Redline. “Any time you have a change in the road when you’re driving, you need to be aware of it so we just want to bring it to people’s attention so everyone can get home safe.”
Redline says drivers play a critical role when it comes to safety in work zones.
“It takes about five seconds to look at a text message. If you’re going 55 mph, that’s the length of a football field, so imagine driving blindfolded for a football field in a work zone,” says Redline. “Very dangerous, we just want everybody to get home safe.”