Web produced by: Kelly MartinIt was a day Nancy Chandler Oney will never forget: the day her husband never came home from his job on the highway work crew.
“It only takes a second of distraction when driving through a work zone. The smallest mistake could keep someone’s mom or dad from coming home to their family,” Oney said.
In 2003, her husband, Frank Chandler, died in a work zone crash along KY 8 in Kenton County. She has teamed up with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet to participate in several events marking
National Work Zone Safety Week, April 6-10. The week recognizes those who keep our highways safe and risk their lives doing it.
Oney hopes her story can remind those driving through highway work zones this year to be careful.
Each year, more than 40,000 people are injured and thousands killed in work zones. Most -- 85 percent -- are motorists. Three people were killed in Kentucky highway work zones in 2008, according to police records.
Throughout the state, events are being held to pay tribute to victims while raising awareness of work zone safety. Family members of victims, traffic safety groups, the Federal Highway Administration, law enforcement and the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet are taking part in some way.
“By talking about the issues, and taking a few minutes to reflect and remember, we hope we can save lives in the future,” said Transportation Cabinet Secretary Joe Prather at an event in Louisville. “These people risk their lives every single day so we can go to work, school or the grocery store. We each share a responsibility to make highway work zones as safe as possible by slowing down and being alert when driving through them.”
Boyd Sigler, director of highway safety programs for the Kentucky Office of Highway Safety, said it's critical that motorists pay attention to work zones and to the speed restrictions and other safety warnings in the areas where workers will be throughout the highway construction season.
“We hope this week will be a reminder that thousands of highway workers will be out in force this year, and that their lives are in our hands,” said Sigler. “Work zone safety is a concern for everyone on the road.”
