FREDERICKSBURG, Va. (April 5, 2023) – The recent tragedy near Baltimore, Md., where six roadway workers were killed when one vehicle apparently collided with another before crashing into their work zone demonstrates the tremendous risk workers face each day while seeking to earn a living.

“These six individuals went to work that day simply to do their part to provide safe highways for the motoring public. But they didn’t make it home to their families, who are now left to grieve as they face life without them,” said ATSSA President & CEO Stacy Tetschner. “The roadway safety industry does its best to provide safe workspaces for its personnel and continually looks for new strategies to prevent such tragedies but the fact is, everyone plays a role in work zone safety and we need everyone to work with us.”

National Work Zone Awareness Week (NWZAW) was established more than two decades ago to increase attention to the need for motorists to exercise caution when approaching and passing through roadway work zones. In 2020, the most recent year for which statistics are available, 857 people were killed in work zones with another 44,240 injured, according to the National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse.