News
SAFE Roads on Winnipeg streets
Remember: the road is someone's workplace.
As the weather warms and traffic increases on Manitoba streets and highways, motorists are asked to keep one fact at the top of their minds – the road is not only for traveling.
It is also someone’s workplace.
That’s why for the fourth consecutive year, the annual SAFE Roads campaign is asking drivers to slow down and exercise caution when traveling through construction zones and other areas where workers are present.
“When the weather is nice and the sun is shining, drivers are eager to get where they’re going,” says Chris Lorenc, President of the Manitoba Heavy Construction Association (MHCA), who chairs the SAFE Roads Committee. “The problem is warm weather also brings out construction and other roadside workers, so speeding drivers are no longer just putting themselves in danger.”
SAFE Roads was initiated by the Manitoba Heavy Construction Association with strong support from the WCB’s SAFE Work program. Its objective is to make drivers more conscious of what is required to keep construction, emergency services and utility workers safe in addition to the general travelling public.
“A recent survey showed Manitobans are frustrated when driving through road construction zones,” says Lorenc. “Some 77 per cent of them see people driving too fast through these zones.”
As SAFE Roads has grown, so has the awareness of its cause. In a recent public opinion poll more than eight of 10 Manitobans asked said they now think about the safety of road workers while driving.
That, Lorenc says, is the reason SAFE Roads keeps at it.
“If we help prevent injury to at least one worker or motorist, we are doing our job,” he says. “The more drivers who consciously make better decisions in and around construction zones and the road in general, the more successful we are.”
The SAFE Roads partners include:
The campaign officially launched May 11 and will continue through to June 24, 2009.