Oregon Department of Transportation urges everyone to slow down in work zones to avoid injuries and deaths of construction workers.
There are for seasons in Oregon: Raining, Winter, Still Raining, and Construction.
Portland, OR (PRWEB) June 18, 2013
As summer construction begins and continues on several bridges and major roadways around Portland, it is extremely important that drivers pay increased attention to their surroundings.
“There are four seasons in Oregon,” joked injury attorney Sean DuBois, “Raining, Winter, Still Raining, and Construction.” This being “construction” season, he says, accidents around construction sites can increase – but with careful driving, injuries can be prevented.
According to the Oregon Department of Transportation website, there is construction of some sort being conducted on almost every major highway in the state. ODOT even publishes “Weekly Construction News” to ensure that drives are aware of delays and traffic impact. In addition, the City of Portland has listed dozens of construction projects on their Projects page, which does not even include the over twenty sidewalk projects slated for completion by Fall 2013.
Accidents and injuries surrounding construction sites are nothing new. In fact, the Federal Highway Administration has published many statistics in attempts to educate drivers about the dangers of these areas. According to Work Zone Crash Data, there were 87,606 crashes and 37,476 injuries in work zones in the US in 2010. In Oregon, in the past 10 years, there have been an average of 9 work zone fatal crashes EVERY year – which prompted the start of the “Respect the Zone” campaign around the state in May 2013.
“We all understand that road work has to be done – so let’s get it done as safely as possible,” said DuBois. “We can all take a couple minutes to SLOW DOWN in work areas and be patient. Remember: it’s not the drivers who usually injured, it’s the workers.”
10 Tips for Safe Work Zone Driving:
1. Leave your house early if you know there’s construction.
2. Plan your trip around the construction using ODOT’s tools like TripCheck.com or call 511.
3. Pay attention – which means, get off your phone, stop fiddling with the radio, etc. – and watch for workers.
4. Look for anything Orange, like cones, signs, and barricades.
5. Double your following distance.
6. Give workers room between them and your vehicle.
7. Make sure you get into the appropriate lane in advance to avoid fast merges.
8. Do not speed, especially at night when visibility may be compromised.
9. Obey any marked detours and flaggers.
10. Be patient.
The Oregon accident injury law firm of Shulman DuBois LLC, is based in SE Portland, OR. Partners Joshua Shulman and Sean DuBois specialize in auto accidents, including injuries from trucks, cars, and motorcycles as well as bicycle accidents, pedestrian accidents, and wrongful death cases. For a free consultation, call 503-222-4411. For free fatal accident information, visit our Oregon Wrongful Death site.