Road User Responsibilities

The primary responsibility of any road user passing by a roadway work zone is to take notice and pay attention. In a roadway work zone, the usual habits for driving on a given roadway may not apply because road conditions through a roadway work zone can change frequently. Taking notice and paying attention provides you with new information about the situation on the road, and allows you to make better driving decisions.

According to the Work Zone Safety Consortium, an industry group supported by the FHWA, over the five-year period ending in 2015, one in every seven roadway work zone fatalities could be directly linked to driving while distracted. Rear-end crashes are the most common type of roadway work zone accident, and this type of accident is often associated with distracted driving. In-vehicle distractions such as cell phones, radios, eating, and passengers can remove a driver's attention from the road. In a roadway work zone, distractions can spell danger.

With this in mind, drivers passing through roadway work zones should practice the following safety steps:

• Stay alert and minimize distractions, dedicating your full attention to the roadway.
• Turn on the vehicle headlights for greater visibility.
• Merge into the correct lane, and do so well before the lane closure.
• Follow other vehicles at a safe distance; do not tailgate.
• Expect delays, and allow extra time for travel through work zones.
• Obey all signs and flagger signals.
• Always expect and be prepared to safely respond to the unexpected.

To learn more about Roadway Work Zones visit our Worker Safety in Roadway Work Zones Online Training web page.