Road workers are urging motorists to slow down near worksites in a new road safety campaign launched by Transport for NSW (TfNSW).
Deputy Secretary of Safety, Environment and Regulation at TfNSW, Tara McCarthy said the campaign, which was filmed at real worksites, will be shown all across regional NSW.
Ms McCarthy said given the nature of their job, road workers were more vulnerable to unsafe motorist behaviour and experienced close-calls at worksites regularly.
“From 2016 to 2020, there were 39 people injured or killed in road crashes involving road workers in NSW, including two people who died and 37 people who were injured, six of which seriously,” she said.
“These workers are people like you and me.
“They are out working on the roads, helping keep us safe, and we can do the same by slowing down near worksites, looking out for them and obeying signs from traffic controllers.”
Ms McCarthy said 44 per cent of the casualties involving road workers occurred in regional NSW.
“When we come across roadworks in regional NSW, it can sometimes be hard to spot workers on site and, if you don’t slow down, it’s even more likely that you’re not going to see them,” she said.
“The new Road Worker Safety campaign shows the difference between what a driver can and can’t see when travelling at different speeds.”
The Deputy Secretary said the campaign was timely given the increase in temporary worksites across NSW as flood recovery work got underway.
“As we work to rebuild roads and critical infrastructure damaged by the recent floods, more road workers will be on the roads,” she said.
“We all need to do our part to keep our roads safe – slow down, road workers around,” Ms McCarthy said.
