Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer wore a button depicting the face of Brandyn Spychalski on her orange suit jacket as she spoke at the national kickoff for National Work Zone Awareness Week this morning.

She urged everyone to recognize that orange work zone cones represent people and to “see the humanity” of one another.

“This is not a hassle. This is not a distraction. This is a workplace,” Whitmer said of roadway work zones. “Each of us deserves to be safe in the workplace.”

National Work Zone Awareness Week (NWZAW) started on Monday with events being held across the country to raise awareness of the importance of work zone safety. The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) hosted this year’s kickoff event, which was livestreamed.

The Spring issue of Roadway Safety magazine is now available with a cover story that’s apt as we observe National Work Zone Awareness Week.

We take a look at “smart vests” being developed in Virginia in a collaboration between the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI), Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), Audi of America, Qualcomm and American Tower Corp.

The smart vests provide an example of the potential for lifesaving benefits of cellular vehicle-to-everything (CV2X) technology.

Our first “Convention Extra” is also available online now.

National Work Zone Awareness Week (NWZAW) begins today with a straightforward theme: Drive Safe. Work Safe. Save Lives.

Statistics are sobering. In 2019, 842 people were killed in 762 fatal crashes in work zones, including 135 roadway workers, according to the National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse. That means most of the people killed were motorists, passengers and pedestrians.

Today is Work Zone Safety Training Day, in which employers and workers are encouraged to pause voluntarily during the workday for safety demonstrations, training in hazard recognition and fall prevention, and talks about hazards, protective methods and the company’s safety policies, goals and expectations.

Republican committee leaders in the Senate released their framework for an infrastructure package. The five-year proposal, deemed a counter proposal to the Biden Administration’s American Jobs Plan, would focus primarily on transportation, broadband and water infrastructure.

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. (April 22, 2021) – More than 100 ATSSA members from across the country gathered this week for ATSSA’s annual Legislative Briefing & Fly-In, which provides members an opportunity to hear directly from transportation leaders and share their priorities with members of Congress and their staff.

ATSSA members voice their roadway safety infrastructure concerns and deliver their insights directly to the people engaged in policy and funding. The two-day event, held April 21 and 22, took place online for the second straight year due to the pandemic.

This year saw record-breaking participation with registration totaling 104 people representing 28 states and Washington, D.C. ATSSA’s Government Relations Team scheduled more than 60 meetings with Congressional offices, which are taking place throughout the day.