The Georgia Department of Transportation (Georgia DOT) is observing National Work Zone Awareness Week April 11 – 15. This year’s theme is “Work Zones are a Sign to Slow Down”. Each spring Georgia DOT and other departments of transportation across the country observe National Work Zone Awareness Week to educate motorists about the dangers of work zones and to remind drivers to plan, minimize distractions and slow down when driving through work zones. 

This annual observance sheds light on the real dangers faced by Georgia DOT workers and contractors as well as drivers, passengers and pedestrians traveling through work zones in Georgia. In fact, a large majority of work zone fatalities are not workers but are others passing through work zones, in crashes that are largely preventable. 

Georgia DOT manages the 10th largest transportation network in the nation with the safety and mobility of its citizens top of mind. An unfortunate consequence of this civic responsibility is that the construction and maintenance workers charged with maintaining Georgia’s state and federal highways are often confronted with life-threatening dangers and frightening near-misses at work zones. 

“There were 63 fatalities in Georgia’s work zones in 2021, a continued upward trend compared to the 51 deaths in 2020 and the 37 deaths in 2019,” said Russell R. McMurry, Commissioner of Georgia DOT. “This rise in fatalities is unacceptable and must be reversed. We must do more to eliminate work zone fatalities and it starts with educating everyone about the dangers that exist at work zones.”  

Since 1973, when record-keeping began, more than 60 Georgia DOT employees and contractors have died in work-zone related incidents.