Image from ConeZone.com poster

Today in Vancouver, I drove by dozens of people working on the roads, which started me thinking about writing this blog post when I got home.

What else can I do to help keep you safe? I wondered, as I drove by slowly.

With that in mind, I will reiterate this message for drivers on the Cone Zone website.

“Three Simple Acts Can Save A Worker’s Life” and they are

1) Slow down and drive with extreme care near a Cone Zone.

2) Stay alert and minimize distractions.

3) Think about every cone as if a human being were standing behind it.

This baby needs his dad to come home after work

On that last point, I’d like to mention how much the Cone Zone project has done to get drivers thinking about the people behind the projects. We see their images on work trucks throughout BC – as reminders of the people behind the roadwork. I wrote about one of them in Father and baby remind workers to slow down.

“When we see those signs at the side of the road, it’s a reminder that families work there, and they do belong to somebody,” said Anastasia Andrews, explaining why her husband and baby son took part in the project.

The 2013 Cone Zone campaign launched June 6 in BC and aims to raise public awareness about the dangers faced by roadside workers – and its posters sure do a good job of it. Commuters can get pretty annoyed by delays – especially when it’s hot weather and they are under pressure to get somewhere – so it’s important to remember the fact that the workers are the much-loved sons, moms, grandpas, and such of people who need them to come home safely.