wsdot | WSDOT - Drive safe, save lives @wsdot | Uploaded July 2021 | Updated October 2024, 19 hours ago.
Just in the past few months we have seen a flagger killed, an off-duty Seattle Police officer killed while helping a stranded driver, a Washington State Patrol officer hit by a driver in a stolen car, a tow truck operator who lost a leg in a work zone crash and another tow driver was killed along with two people he was assisting.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports Washington state had 557 highway traffic fatalities in 2020, a 3 percent increase from 2019 even with drastically reduced traffic due to the pandemic.
Leaders from the Washington State Department of Transportation, the Washington State Patrol and the Tow Recovery Association are asking drivers to do their part by staying alert and not driving distracted or impaired.
So, what can you do? We ask all drivers in and near work zones to:
• Slow Down – drive the posted speeds, they’re there for your safety
• Be Kind – our workers are helping to keep you safe and improve the roadways
• Pay Attention – both to workers directing you and surrounding traffic
• Stay Calm – expect delays, leave early or take an alternate route if possible; no meeting or appointment is worth risking someone’s life
Move Over, Slow Down law
Washington state law of Move Over RCW 46.61.212 app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=46.61.212.
While many work zones are scheduled ahead of time and have pre-planned traffic control in place, we also have emergency work that requires crews to be on highway shoulders or lanes next to active traffic. State law requires motorists to move over one lane if possible whenever passing emergency crews on highway shoulders. If moving over isn’t possible, then drivers must slow to 10 mph below the posted speed limit.
The Move Over, Slow Down law applies to more than just law enforcement or fire trucks, it also includes our Incident Response Trucks as well as highway maintenance vehicles, tow trucks and solid waste trucks and utility trucks – as long as they’re displaying flashing lights.
So, the next time you’re out on the road and you see the flashing lights of a patrol car or one of our own IRT trucks, take a moment to move over or slow down. You might just save a life; it could even be your own.
wsdotblog.blogspot.com/2021/06/rise-in-work-zone-crashes-concern-for.html
_________________________________
Speakers:
Secretary of Transportation Roger Millar, WSDOT
Assistant Chief James Mjor, Washington State Patrol
Mark Riker, Washington State Building and Construction Trades Council
Emily Wade, Director of the Towing and Recovery Association
Josh Stuckey, WSDOT Incident Response
Just in the past few months we have seen a flagger killed, an off-duty Seattle Police officer killed while helping a stranded driver, a Washington State Patrol officer hit by a driver in a stolen car, a tow truck operator who lost a leg in a work zone crash and another tow driver was killed along with two people he was assisting.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports Washington state had 557 highway traffic fatalities in 2020, a 3 percent increase from 2019 even with drastically reduced traffic due to the pandemic.
Leaders from the Washington State Department of Transportation, the Washington State Patrol and the Tow Recovery Association are asking drivers to do their part by staying alert and not driving distracted or impaired.
So, what can you do? We ask all drivers in and near work zones to:
• Slow Down – drive the posted speeds, they’re there for your safety
• Be Kind – our workers are helping to keep you safe and improve the roadways
• Pay Attention – both to workers directing you and surrounding traffic
• Stay Calm – expect delays, leave early or take an alternate route if possible; no meeting or appointment is worth risking someone’s life
Move Over, Slow Down law
Washington state law of Move Over RCW 46.61.212 app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=46.61.212.
While many work zones are scheduled ahead of time and have pre-planned traffic control in place, we also have emergency work that requires crews to be on highway shoulders or lanes next to active traffic. State law requires motorists to move over one lane if possible whenever passing emergency crews on highway shoulders. If moving over isn’t possible, then drivers must slow to 10 mph below the posted speed limit.
The Move Over, Slow Down law applies to more than just law enforcement or fire trucks, it also includes our Incident Response Trucks as well as highway maintenance vehicles, tow trucks and solid waste trucks and utility trucks – as long as they’re displaying flashing lights.
So, the next time you’re out on the road and you see the flashing lights of a patrol car or one of our own IRT trucks, take a moment to move over or slow down. You might just save a life; it could even be your own.
wsdotblog.blogspot.com/2021/06/rise-in-work-zone-crashes-concern-for.html
_________________________________
Speakers:
Secretary of Transportation Roger Millar, WSDOT
Assistant Chief James Mjor, Washington State Patrol
Mark Riker, Washington State Building and Construction Trades Council
Emily Wade, Director of the Towing and Recovery Association
Josh Stuckey, WSDOT Incident Response
