On a daily basis road workers are on the receiving end of verbal abuse and threatening behaviour from road users who deliberately put workers at serious risk. Sheffield City Council and South Yorkshire Police have warned motorists that by deliberately driving into coned areas and by speeding, they are putting road workers in great danger.
One recent incident saw a road worker sustaining a serious leg injury as a motorist forced their way through a coned off area in Parson Cross. Another incident saw a motorist driving straight through a coned off area in Wybourn because he did not want to use the diversion route, putting the workers who were on the road at the time in great danger. The driver then continued to threaten workers when told that the road was closed for re-surfacing, saying that he would be “back later to sort you all out”.
“Highest risk of injury or death”
Chris Morris, of highways contractor Amey, said that staff on the roads are put at “unacceptable risk”, and that the “highest risk of injury or death for Amey's workforce in Sheffield is from traffic passing our sites too fast or without due care.”
An appeal has recently been issued, in conjunction with amey, for motorists to lower their speed when driving in areas where workmen are present.
How contractors and the Highways Agency are currently minimising risk:
- - Through the installation of CCTV-equipped Stop/Go boards to catch lawbreaking drivers
- - Increase of IPVs to warn motorists and protect workers
- - More vibrant cone layouts that require fewer cones, minimising the risk to cone-installation teams
- - Increase of average-speed cameras
- - Greater use of overhead gantries that instruct drivers to avoid closed lanes
If you have sustained an injury on the road or at work, and are looking to claim compensation, please contact us.