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Spring and summer are busy times for construction and other road-related activity, which brings an increased safety risk for roadside workers in the province.

To help reduce the risk, the 12th annual B.C. Cone Zone campaign launched this summer with a call for drivers, employers, and workers to do their part to prevent injuries and deaths of roadside workers. The campaign reminds all drivers to slow down when approaching a Cone Zone – an area set up by roadside workers to protect themselves and drivers from injury and death.

As part of the campaign, a traffic enforcement, the roadside work zone will see the BC Highway Patrol ticket drivers for unsafe behaviours. Tickets will be issued for violations such as speeding, disobeying a flag person, or using an electronic device while driving. WorkSafeBC statistics show two roadside workers in the province were killed last year and 31 were injured and had to miss work after being hit by a vehicle. Over the last decade, 12 roadside workers lost their lives, and 221 missed time from work due to injury.

“That’s 233 people — mothers, fathers, friends, work colleagues, and neighbours,” says Trace Acres, Road Safety at Work program director and spokesperson for the Cone Zone campaign. “Every roadside worker deserves to make it home to their family at the end of their shift without injury.” Roadside workers are more than road maintenance and construction crews. They’re also first responders, municipal workers, traffic control persons, landscapers, tow truck operators, and others who work at or beside the roadside as part of their job.

The campaign aims to raise awareness of the dangers roadside workers face. One of the greatest risks is a motor vehicle driving through their workplace. “Dangerous behaviours like speeding and distracted driving puts them at risk,” Acres says. Employers, workers, and all drivers each need to do their part to help keep them safe.