HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — This week is Work Zone Awareness Week, and the Florida Department of Transportation is stressing safety.
FDOT shared numbers with us to show just how important it is. From 2020 to 2023, 293 people died in work zones and 277 people were seriously injured in Florida. That involved workers, motorists and passengers.
Andrew Williams, a project manager for FDOT, said those numbers are hard to wrap his head around.
“Everyone here has a family. Everyone driving has a family. All it takes is one split decision or not paying attention for one second, and you’ve changed someone's life forever,” Williams said.
He wants to remind drivers to slow down while driving through work zones. He said high speeds can be a matter of life or death.
FDOT said half of those crashes were rear-end crashes, which emphasizes the importance of driving alert.
“I’ve had a couple of projects where people enter it and it’s a very scary subject,” Williams said.
FDOT wants to remind people to slow down, follow speed limit signs, avoid distractions and give themselves space between other cars. They said everyone plays a role in lowering the number of deaths and injuries in a work zone.
“We want everyone going home at the end of the day," Williams said.
Work Zone Awareness Week is an annual campaign.
'Cruise lights' on Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office patrol cars raise questions, confusion among drivers
Every driver knows that when you see red and blue flashing lights on a patrol car, you slow down, pull over, or get out of the way.
But in Hillsborough County, drivers will also now see deputies with their lights on, but not flashing. They're called "cruise lights," and the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office (HCSO) recently implemented their use on all patrol vehicles.
