CHARLESTON, WV — In the wake of the fourth worker being struck this year in the Mountain State’s highway work zones, West Virginia Transportation Secretary Jimmy Wriston, P.E., is imploring motorists to pay attention and drive safely in work zones.
“Imagine, if you will, we’re sitting here in my office working away, answering emails, taking care of documents and that kind of thing, and a semi-truck goes through this office at 70 miles an hour,” Wriston said. “That’s exactly what our workers are experiencing each and every day.
“When you go through these work zones, you have GOT to slow down.”
On Wednesday, July 10, 2024, a West Virginia Division of Highways (WVDOH) mower operator and the driver of a pickup truck were seriously injured when the truck collided with the mower in the Interstate 79 median near Stonewood.
On Thursday, April 4, 2024, a woman working flag operations at a work zone on Route 340 South in Jefferson County was killed after another woman allegedly drove around a vehicle that had stopped in the work zone and ran over her.
On Thursday, March 14, 2024, WVDOH worker Jordan Swiger was setting up traffic cones near Clarksburg when he was hit by an impaired driver traveling too fast through the work zone.
“She hit me, and evidently I had at least a 60-foot flight path, according to different people,” Swiger said following the incident. In addition to multiple broken bones and injuries, Swiger’s skull was fractured in three places, leading to a three-week hospital stay.
Another WVDOH worker was treated and released from the hospital after being hit by a car while patching potholes on Interstate 79 in Braxton County on Friday, March 29, 2024. The WVDOH District 7 worker was patching potholes on I-79 when a driver ran through the work zone, drove through the pothole that was being patched and struck the worker on the arm.
“We have some of our lowest-paid individuals holding those flags and directing traffic, and they’re responsible for every life, every soul, in that work zone,” Wriston said. “It’s serious, serious business.”
“How could you possibly think it’s okay to stick a key in the ignition, start your vehicle up, and drive through this office?” Wriston asked. “That’s exactly what you’re doing when you go through a work zone. You can’t tell me you don’t see those work zones, because they’re EVERYWHERE.”
Wriston said nearly all work zone crashes are due to driver error – speeding, distracted driving, or cell phone use.
“This has got to be something that we address at our values level, our West Virginia values level,” Wriston said. “We’ve got to show that we care about our fellow citizens.”
Wriston said the WVDOH is actively trying to build safety into the design of every single highway project. “But the really critical part here, and this is critical, is the driver behavior.”
Wriston said the WVDOH plans to partner with the state education system to emphasize safe driving.
“We’re going to start training our citizens how to drive at a real early age. So that when you get to be of age to go get that driver’s license it’s ingrained in you. When you operate a vehicle, you’ve got to make good decisions.”
