MDOT gives tips for awareness week

ISHPEMING — On Wednesday’s we wear orange, or at least that’s what MDOT, along with other organizations, want you to do in order to raise awareness for work zone safety.

This week is Work Zone Safety Awareness Week, an effort to decrease fatalities and injuries in work zones.There are a variety of precautions drivers can take to avoid work zone accidents.

“95% of all traffic crashes are caused by some sort of driver error and the biggest part of that is distracted driving. So when you enter a work zone, don’t eat, don’t text, you probably don’t even want to be talking, carrying on a heavy conversation,” said MDOT communications representative Dan Weingarten. “Focus on the road, slow down and definitely don’t tailgate people who are in front of you.”

With accident statistics increasing once again, the coalition that sponsors the event is working hard to push the moving towards zero deaths initiative.

“A lot of the fatalities and injuries that occur in work zones occur to drivers and passengers in vehicles. We lose about 34,000 people every year nationally in traffic crashes,” added Weingarten. “Its just a tragic and unacceptably high number when you think that every one of those people represent somebody’s family member or friend who has had their life taken from them.”

With the installation of the Ishpeming round–about starting next week, MDOT warns drivers to proceed with caution. For more information, click here.