April 15-19, 2024
CAWP Contractors are busy improving Pennsylvania’s roads and bridges. When you encounter our work zones, please keep the safety of highway workers in mind. Our industry actively supports the National Work Zone Awareness Week and participates in outreach efforts to educate the traveling public about dangers of driving through work zones.
National Work Zone Awareness Week (NWZAW) is a national public awareness campaign that spreads the message that we are all responsible for work zone safety.
This year’s NWZAW is April 15-19, 2024 and the theme is “Work Zones are temporary. Actions behind the wheel can last forever.”
NWZAW Safety Message from
Jason Koss, CAWP Director of Industry Relations
HOW TO PARTICIPATE
Everyone plays a role in work zone safety. NWZAW highlights the deadly dangers of inattention at highway work areas. Make plans now for the weeklong commemoration.
Work Zone Safety Training Day – Monday, April 15
NWZAW starts on April 15 with Work Zone Safety Training Day, which emphasizes the importance of laying the groundwork for safety through training of personnel. Companies were encouraged to pause during the workday for safety demonstrations, discussions about safety policies and other prevention steps.
National Kick Off Event – Tuesday, April 16
The NWZAW 2024 kickoff event will be hosted by the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) at a location and time to be determined. More information will be posted as it becomes available.
GO Orange Day – Wednesday, April 17
All roadway safety professionals across the country are encouraged to wear orange to proudly show their support of work zone safety. NWZAW and Go Orange Day are especially important to the families of victims who have lost their lives in work zones.
Show your support on social media by posting your Go Orange Day pictures and use the hashtags #NWZAW, #Orange4Safety and #CAWP.
Share your photos with CAWP!
SHARE YOUR PHOTOS Social Media Storm – Thursday, April 18
Organizations, companies, institutions and individuals are asked to share messages and use hashtags #NWZAW, #WorkZoneSafety and #CAWP throughout social media between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. ET.
Find social media images from MDOT below to use on your social channels.
Moment of Silence – Friday, April 19
The Moment of Silence was new for 2022 and remembers the people who lost their lives in a work zone incident.
WORK ZONE RESOURCES
NWZAW HISTORY
National Work Zone Awareness Week (NWZAW) is an event that takes place across the United States, with partnerships between state departments of transportation (DOT), national road safety organizations, government agencies, private companies, and individuals.
How did this work zone safety awareness campaign get started?
In 1997, a group of Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) staff members, located in southwestern Virginia, wanted to dedicate a week to raise awareness about work zone safety among all district employees before construction projects picked up during the warmer months. Following the successful promotion of this first event, VDOT brought the idea of raising awareness to other DOTs, and in 1999 the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) began its statewide public awareness campaign, “Slow for the Cone Zone.”
However, it was 1998 when VDOT first presented the idea to create a national campaign to ATSSA officials. In December of 1999, ATSSA approached the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO) to launch the first official NWZAW. They developed an agreement between the organizations, that outlined goals for NWZAW efforts:
- Initiate efforts to raise awareness of the need for more caution when driving through work zones to decrease fatalities and injuries;
- Establish and promote a uniform set of safety tips;
- The value of training and importance of best practices in regard to work zone safety would be promoted among individuals in the private sector, industry, and roadway workers;
- Reach out to both roadway workers and contractors to communicate possible effects of motorists’ behavior in response to traffic delays, and advise on what steps might possibly be taken to lessen negative behavior; and
- Outreach efforts would be made to work with entities involved with work zone safety and to form partnerships.
The first official NWZAW kick-off event was held in 2000 in Springfield, Virginia. The site where the kick-off event is held now alternates each year from being hosted in the Washington, D.C., area to different locations across the United States. State transportation departments can submit applications to host the event on those alternate years.