The North Carolina Department of Transportation will host the kickoff event for this year’s National Work Zone Awareness Week, which includes calls for safety training, social media outreach and a moment of silence.
Set to take place April 21-25, this year’s NWZAW theme is “Respect the zone so we all get home.”
The full calendar of events include:
- Monday, April 21: The week begins with Work Zone Safety Training day, when companies are encouraged to pause their workday for a period to go over safety policies, offer demonstrations and training and talk about hazards in the work zone.
- Tuesday, April 22: NCDOT will host this year’s kickoff event and news conference at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds.
- Wednesday, April 23: During “Go Orange Day,” roadway safety professionals are encouraged to wear orange in support of raising work zone safety awareness. Participants can use the hashtags #NWZAW and #Orange4Safety to show their support on social media.
- Thursday, April 24: On the day of the “Social Media Storm,” from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. EST, participating organizations, companies, institutions and individuals will share messages and use hashtags #NWZAW and #WorkZoneSafety on their social media.
- Friday, April 25: The final day of the week is dedicated to a Moment of Silence, a tradition begun in 2022. Participating organizations are encouraged to set aside time in the day to silently remember those who have lost their lives in work zones.
There’s good reason to spend five days focusing on safety. ​In 2022, 891 people died in work zones, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System data. That same year, 742 drivers and passengers died in work zones.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics also reported that 94 highway worker occupational fatalities occurred in road construction sites in 2022.
NCDOT has released a series of images, posters and backgrounds for organizations and individuals to promote the event, which can be found on the NWZAW website along with other work zone safety resources.
The first ever NWZAW took place in 2000 as a collaborative event by the Virginia Department of Transportation, the Federal Highway Administration, the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials and the American Traffic Safety Services Association.
