The Kansas Department of Transportation announced on April 20 that it is sharing personal stories throughout National Work Zone Awareness Week to emphasize the importance of safety in highway work zones.
According to the department, KDOT Highway Maintenance Supervisor Andréa Barnes remains vigilant while working on highways due to her training and experience. In a blog post, Barnes described an incident in 2011 when she and a co-worker were patching potholes on U.S. 169 and a distracted driver entered their work zone. “We found out the driver was checking his Blackberry for emails; he looked up and there was nothing he could do. He hit us at 65 mph, and he never hit the brakes,” Barnes said.
Barnes credited quick action by a KDOT truck driver who sounded an alarm and directed her to move left, resulting in the vehicle hitting an attenuator (safety trailer) instead of striking her or her co-worker directly. The department noted that Barnes’ full account is available on kansastransportation.blogspot.com with proper credit.
The department said that similar information will be distributed daily through upcoming work zone safety blogs featuring other transportation professionals, including Phillip Metzen from the Kansas Highway Patrol, Keith Hubler from KDOT in Clay Center, Heather Jennings from KDOT in Syracuse, and Andrew Booth from the Kansas Turnpike Authority in Wichita.
More details can be found at the organization’s website.
