It's the Maine Turnpike Authority 'Work Zone Awareness Week'. What is 'Work Zone Awareness Week'?

Peter Mill, the executive director of the Maine Turnpike Authority answers all your 'Work Zone Awareness Week' questions. Starting with the obvious...

What is work zone awareness week?

The first week in April is held to bring national attention to motorist and worker safety and mobility issues in work zones.

 

What is it important to the MTA?

We have about 100 workers who daily work in work zones along the pike. This is their work space and we don’t want distracted drivers to speed through their “office”. We want them to be safe and to be able to go home to their families at the end of the day, just like someone who sits at a desk all day does.

 

What are the biggest concerns of your employees in work zones?

Speeding, going too fast for the conditions. Distracted driving, whether its texting, fiddling with other electronics in their vehicles or any of the other numerous things that distract us when we are driving.

 

What does litter and tying down load have to do with safety?

If there is litter or debris that falls from a vehicle whether, its construction debris or that lawn chair that fell off your roof rack, when that lands on the road our maintenance workers have to go pick that hazard up out of the road, that puts them in harm’s way when they really don’t need to be.

 

Just be extra careful as the MTA does their best to make your every day drive a good one.

 

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