Drivers reminded to pay attention, move over for crews during work zone safety week

“We are just taking this opportunity to remind drivers to make sure that they’re paying attention behind the wheel, especially when they’re coming up on work zones,” said Mandi Dillon Southwest regional public information officer for ODOT.

Drivers should stay focused on the road and put down devices.

“A lot of times when you’re entering a work zone you’re going to have traffic shifts, things are not in their normal configuration and you may have drivers slowing down in front of you quickly,” Dillon said. “So it’s really important that you’re putting down those distractions and you’re paying attention behind the wheel.”

Motorists should also be planning ahead and anticipate lane closures or if there’s an upcoming exit they need to take.

Dillon reminded drivers of the state’s Move Over Law as well.

“If you see flashing lights or if you see [crews] stopped on the side of the road you need to move over,” she said. “And if its not possible to move over you definitely need to slow down. It is a law and it is a law for a reason.”

Ben Norrod, an ODOT worker of five years, said he can’t count the number of close calls he’s had while working on the road.

“It’s pretty scary when you’re sitting on the side of the highway in a pickup truck or you’re out doing your job outside of a vehicle and you’re getting passed by cars doing 60, 70, 80 mph,” he said.

He also mentioned the state’s Move Over Law, but said few motorists follow it.

“There is no comfort on the highway,” Norrod said. “Nobody pays attention to us.”

Last year there were more than 4,600 work-zone-related crashes in Ohio, including 21 that were deadly, Dillon said.

“Already in the state of Ohio this year we’ve had 27 crews hit while working,” she added. “That’s 27 crews too many. No one goes to work at the beginning of the day wanting to be in the middle of a crash or an accident.”

There have been 534 work-zone-related crashes in the state this year, according to Ohio State Highway Patrol data. Nine of those crashes were in Montgomery County, three were in Warren County, three were in Miami County and one was in Greene County.

“The end goal here is just making sure that everyone gets to their destination and gets home safely at the end of the day,” Dillon said.