Electric cooperatives across North Carolina recognized April 11-15 as Work Zone Awareness Week. Safety is a key focus for electric cooperatives, and to mark the event, co-ops reminded members to practice safe driving habits on the road, including:
- When driving, move over for emergency personnel, including police, firefighters and ambulances, as well as utility crews.
- When moving over is not possible, slow down and proceed with caution.
“The purpose of a work zone is to get the attention of the traveling public to slow down and be prepared to merge or even stop,” said Farris Leonard, director of job training and safety for North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives. “This helps provide a safer work area when near moving traffic so they can focus on the work they are performing.”
Sharing safety information about traveling through work zones not only helps keep drivers and utility crews safe, but also demonstrates the electric co-ops’ commitment to the cooperative principle of “education, training, and information.”
Work zone safety remains an important area of focus. According to the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s Traffic Management Unit, there were 6,200 crashes in work zones in 2021. Those incidents resulted in 2,500 injuries and 29 fatalities.
Find more information on work zone safety and other safety tips by contacting your local electric cooperative.