Work Zone Awareness Week: Outreach Ideas and Strategies Webinar
February 6, 2013
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Contact Information: WorkZoneFeedback@dot.gov
Virginia Department of Transportation Presentation, by David Rush, Virginia Department of Transportation
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Work Zone Awareness Week: Outreach Ideas and Strategies from Virginia
Feb. 6, 2013
David B. Rush
Work Zone Safety Program Manager
Traffic Engineering Division
View the PDF Version [3.6 MB]
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slide notes:
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NWZAW Outreach Ideas and Strategies
- Low cost ideas
- Contractor participation
- Review of ideas from other states
slide notes:
I've been asked to address the following three areas:
- Low cost ideas
- Contractor participation
- Review of ideas from other states
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Low Cost Ideas
WZS Displays at Welcome Centers and Rest Areas
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A low cost idea we've been doing for a while during NWZAW is reaching out to visitors stopping at our Welcome Centers and rest areas.
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Low Cost Ideas: WZS Displays at Welcome Centers and Rest Areas
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One way to do that is to display WZTC devices outside and inside the buildings and have staff engage and answer questions from patrons, hand out information cards addressing driving safely through work zones, and letting folks now about the NWZAW campaign.
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Low Cost Ideas: WZS Displays at Welcome Centers and Rest Areas
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We outsourced the running of our Welcome Centers and rest areas a few years ago, and the staffs there have really embraced their part in sharing the message about slowing down and driving safely through WZ's. On occasions the staff have even purchased work zone shirts and served refreshments with an "Orange theme." Much of this is coordinated with the Virginia Tourism office.
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Low Cost Ideas: WZS Displays at Welcome Centers and Rest Areas
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Originally VDOT staff supplied many of the WZTC devices, but over the last several years many contractors have stepped up and loan the devices needed for the displays. Of course we display the national poster and show visitors how to access our website for additional information.
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Low Cost Ideas: Work Zone Safety Day at VDOT HQ
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One of our goals for NWZAW is to include all VDOT employees in the safety campaign, and not just our field forces. During the week of the national campaign, we try to hold a Work Zone Safety Day event at our central office complex in Richmond.
Many of the employees at our CO have never been in a WZ, so this presents us the opportunity to share with them information about the devices used, their role in helping our field forces do their job safely, and how they can safely travel through WZs and what to do when they see a WZ that is questionable.
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Low Cost Ideas: Work Zone Safety Day at VDOT HQ
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We will have various divisions within VDOT set up table displays, such as our Safety and Performance Management division, Maintenance division, Operations and Security division, and Traffic Engineering division. The goal for the safety day event is to engage and educate the CO employees in improving our WZS program.
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Low Cost Ideas: Work Zone Safety Day at VDOT HQ
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We include our external partners in this effort, such as ATSSA and Virginia ATSSSA Chapter member companies, the Virginia Transportation Construction Alliance, and the VSP.During NWZAW when nighttime WZ's was the theme, we had representatives from 3M come in and share brief sessions on what makes TCD's retroreflective and how to improve driving visibility. We've set up a course with acceptable and unacceptable TCD's and had attendees try to guess which were which. We've focused on WZ Final Rule issues, as well as focusing on the national theme.
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Low Cost Ideas: Work Zone Safety Day at VDOT HQ
Make it fun, entertaining, and informative!
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Along with educating our employees, we also have them participate in a few theme related activities, such as driving (or putting) through a WZ, tossing bean bag drums into the back of a corn hole truck, and guessing how many miniature cones are in the back of a dump truck. We've been fortunate to have vendors donate items for door prizes, which improves the competition of our employees.
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Low Cost Ideas: Go Orange Day
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Another inexpensive activity for employees to show their support for work zone safety is "Go Orange Day." We will pick one of the days during the national campaign and encourage our employees to wear orange for the day, and to submit pictures which are them loaded onto our server.
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Low Cost Ideas: Pledging to Drive Safely in WZ's
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Over the last few years we have also asked our employees to pledge to due their part by driving safely through work zones, and to support our field forces by signing a traffic control device. Last year, with "Don't Barrel through WZ's" as the theme, Traffix Devices donated 12 drums for this cause, with one drum placed at each of our nine districts, one in the Central Office, another at the Transportation Research Council located at UVA, and the last to the VA Trans. Const. Alliance.
The devices are normally displayed in the lobbies of each location throughout the year as a reminder of the pledge.
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Low Cost Ideas: Holding a Recognition Event Honoring Lost Workers
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The signed devices are also used in our annual recognition event held at the VDOT Workers' Memorial located near the center of our state, between Charlottesville and Staunton at a scenic overlook of the Blue Ridge mountains on I-81.
Located on our memorial are the names of 133 VDOT employees who have lost their lives in the line of duty since 1928. Unfortunately, the 133rd name was added to the memorial just a few months ago.
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Low Cost Ideas: Holding a Recognition Event Honoring Lost Workers
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Participation by the VSP, construction industry, VDOT leadership, and by a front line worker helps in getting the message to the press to slow down, pay attention, and drive safely through work zones. Families of those listed on the wall are invited to attend the annual event.
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Low Cost Ideas: Holding a Recognition Event Honoring Lost Workers
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The last several years we have held the event at dusk, where the traffic control devices are light up, adding to the overall visual experience of the vigil. The event is recorded and placed on our website so others can also experience the recognition event.
With this year's theme being "We're all in this together," we are planning a motorcycle run to the memorial from all nine VDOT districts and by contractors across the commonwealth to highlight the need to provide safe work zones for all road users.
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Low Cost Ideas: Sharing with High School Drivers Education Students
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Another low cost idea includes speaking at high school drivers education classes during NWZAW. In a few of our districts, VDOT and contractor personnel take time out of their busy schedules to talk to students about the dangers of work zones (driving inattentively), what they should see in a work zone lane closure, and how to make it through safely. Often traffic control devices are also taken since the students haven't had the experience of being up close to the devices, and it helps keep their attention.
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Low Cost Ideas: Sharing with High School Drivers Education Students
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Often schools near construction projects are sought out since they would get the direct benefit. It also helps the students identify the hazards WZs present to them and others such as workers when the presentation is given by someone who often is in the line of fire. It helps to put a face to the workers they so often travel by, and many of our presenters have engaging stories of close calls or crashes involving co-workers. We reshot a video we got from NC called "A Sudden Change of Plans" that shows what could happen to a teenage driver who strikes and kills a worker in the work zone due to being distracted.
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Low Cost Ideas
Other low cost ideas include:
- Use of Social Media (Twitter, Facebook) to send daily WZS messages.
- Development of an electronic Media Kit.
- Display of WZA messages on CMS during non-rush hour traffic.
slide notes:
Other low cost ideas include:
- Use of Social Media (Twitter, Facebook) to send daily WZS messages.
- Development of an electronic Media Kit.
- Display of WZA messages on CMS during non-rush hour traffic.
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Low Cost Ideas
Other low cost ideas include:
- Send out daily WZS messages via e-mail.
- Send letters to the editors of newspapers across the state.
- Post WZA videos on YouTube.
- Hold a press conference in or near a work zone to raise the media's attention to the dangers motorist present.
slide notes:
- A daily work zone safety message is sent out internally to all VDOT employees via e-mail,
- Our District Administrators are encouraged to send out letters to the editors of newspapers about driving safety through WZs,
- Our internal Communications division has produced WZA videos and placed them on YouTube. In addition we have developed WZA video messages from the VDOT commissioner to all of our employees to be used in safety meetings that week,
- We have also held press conferences in or near a work zone to raise the media's attention to the dangers motorist and speeding traffic presents to our workers.
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Low Cost Ideas
Other low cost ideas include:
- Encourage field forces to review and ensure all TCD's are legible and up to standards.
- Obtain a proclamation from the governor recognizing NWZAW and the importance of driving safely through WZs.
- Join with other organizations to help spread the word!
slide notes:
Part of our awareness campaign is directed to our workers by encouraging them to review and ensure all their TTCD's are legible, clean and up to standards,
To help raise the importance of this safety campaign, we have in the past obtained a proclamation from the governor recognizing NWZAW and the importance of driving safely through WZs.
Finally, it helps to involve others, and we couldn't do these awareness activities if it wasn't for the help of our partners such as the Virginia Transportation Construction Alliance, VSP, the FHWA office in Richmond, and ATSSA, AAA, and other organizations.
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Low Cost Ideas
http://www.virginiadot.org/programs/prog-wzsa-default.asp
slide notes:
Many of these ideas are listed on our National WZ Awareness Website
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Contractor Participation
We work closely with the contracting industry in Virginia and have partnered in:
- Producing PSA's
- Holding joint press conferences
- Writing letters to newspaper editors across the commonwealth
- Conducting training in HS Drivers Education classes
- Displaying NWZAW messages on PCMS's during the week
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Contractor Participation has been good in our state, and we have worked closely with the contracting industry in Virginia and have partnered in:
- Producing PSA's
- Holding joint press conferences
- Writing letters to newspaper editors across the commonwealth
- Conducting training in HS Drivers Education classes
- Displaying NWZAW messages on PCMS's during the week
- Utilizing their WZ TCD's at Welcome Centers and rest areas.
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Contractor Participation
We work closely with the contracting industry in Virginia and have partnered in:
- Utilizing their WZ TCD's at Welcome Centers and rest areas
slide notes:
Contractor Participation has been good in our state, and we have worked closely with the contracting industry in Virginia and have partnered in:
- Utilizing their WZ TCD's at Welcome Centers and rest areas.
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Contractor Participation
Some have even taken the initiative to sponsor billboards and expand the national safety message:
Billboard along I-81 near Harrisonburg
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Some have even taken the initiative to sponsor billboards and expand the national safety message: In this case a Billboard message was placed on I-81 near the city of Harrisonburg.
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Contractor Participation
Some have even taken the initiative to sponsor billboards and expand on the national safety message:
Megaproject contractors in NOVA asked drivers to put their phones down.
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Contractors on our megaprojects in Northern Virginia created a safety campaign to go along with the distracted driving campaign of a few years ago by telling motorist "Orange cones, No phones."
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Lessons Learned
- If possible, plan early
- Focus both internally and externally
- Seek out partners to assist
- Make the message personal
- Be creative
- It's a year long campaign
- We're all in this together!!
slide notes:
- If possible, plan early
- Focus both internally and externally
- Seek out partners to assist
- Make the message personal
- Be creative
- It's a year long campaign
- We're all in this together!!
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Ideas From Other States
- IA, NC, PA, TN and VT had WZAW YouTube videos in 2012.
- NJ conducts a one-day safety conference every year.
- GA has a safety stand-down hour at construction sites to conduct safety training from 7 to 8 a.m.
- A few other states also have mascots (CT, NC).
slide notes:
In closing, I'd like to share a few things other state have done in the past:
- IA, NC, PA, TN and VT have also placed WZAW YouTube videos in 2012.
- NJ conducts a one-day safety conference every year.
- GA has a safety stand-down hour at construction sites to conduct safety training from 7 to 8 a.m.
- A few state have mascots, such as Connecticut and North Carolina
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Ideas From Other States
- AL has created a WZ Safety rack card placed in rest areas, Welcome Center, and other areas.
- CDOT has an annual Remember Day event.
- CT has conducted a roadway safety children's poster contest.
- SC has a "Take the pledge, wear the pin" (Highways or Dieways) campaign.
- Many states have used the appeal to "Slow Down My Mommy (or Daddy) works Here" signs.
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- Alabama DOT has created a WZ Safety rack card with safety tips for driving thought WZs and placed them in rest areas, Welcome Centers, and other areas.
- Massachusetts DOT has a WZ speed enforcement initiative.
- Colorado DOT has an annual Remember Day event.
- Connecticut DOT has conducted a roadway safety children's poster contest.
- South Carolina DOT has a "take the pledge, wear the pin" (Highways or Dieways) campaign.
- Rhode Island DOT partnered with AAA to light the state house dome orange.
- MSHA and Wisconsin DOT also obtained governor proclamations for NWZAW.
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Ideas From Other States
- MSHA and WDOT have also obtained governor proclamations for NWZAW.
- RIDOT partnered with AAA to light the state house dome orange and WIDOT also lit the dome of their capital.
slide notes:
- Alabama DOT has created a WZ Safety rack card with safety tips for driving thought WZs and placed them in rest areas, Welcome Centers, and other areas.
- Massachusetts DOT has a WZ speed enforcement initiative.
- Colorado DOT has an annual Remember Day event.
- Connecticut DOT has conducted a roadway safety children's poster contest.
- South Carolina DOT has a "take the pledge, wear the pin" (Highways or Dieways) campaign.
- Rhode Island DOT partnered with AAA to light the state house dome orange.
- MSHA and Wisconsin DOT also obtained governor proclamations for NWZAW.
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Ideas From Other States
http://www.workzonesafety.org/news_events/awareness_week/2011
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Many of these ideas are listed on the National Work Zone Safety Clearinghouse website
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Ideas From Other States
http://www.atssa.com/Events/NationalWorkZoneAwarenessWeek.aspx
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Or on the ATSSA NWZAW website.
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NWZAW Outreach Ideas and Strategies
David Rush
David.Rush@VDOT.Virginia.gov
Ph 804-371-6672
Marshall Barnhill
Marshall.Barnhill@VDOT.Virginia.gov
Ph 804-692-2134
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For additional information on any of our past campaigns, here is the contact information for myself and for Marshall Barnhill of our Communications Division, who is the co-chair of our statewide WZA task group.
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National Work Zone Awareness Week April 15-19, 2013
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