RDATE:05112008

Every day thousands of road workers across the country put their trust in the hands of around 18 million other road users.

More than 4,000 road workers - approximately one for every mile of the Highways Agency's network - work day in, day out to keep the roads safe and well maintained for drivers.

With their safety in mind a new information DVD, which includes a hard-hitting short film called "Respect", as well as radio clips aimed at regular commuters (primarily those driving on business) has been developed by the Highways Agency, on behalf of the Road Workers' Safety Forum (RoWSaF), with its partners from Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the maintenance, construction and road safety industry, and THINK! Voiced over by respected TV presenter Nick Ross (formerly of BBC's Crimewatch), the film highlights why drivers need to have respect for road workers and an appreciation of the consequences their actions could have.

The hard-hitting "Respect" film shows a car crashing through a busy classroom, an operating theatre during surgery and then into a coned off part of a road where people are at work - the car then collides with a road worker. The longer "5 seconds" film focuses on the driver on business and the possible cost of their actions at road works.

It is not only the driver that needs to act responsibly at road works; the industry - including the Highways Agency - has a major part to play. That is why the Agency is making available two GBP80,000 hi-tech mobile training vehicles, for other employers to keep their staff up to date with the latest health & safety and working practices.

Both the DVD and the vehicles can be used to spread the messages about safely driving near road works to staff, suppliers and the public.

The message is that road workers deserve space and respect to do their work as much as other professionals.

Launching the "Respect our Road Workers" campaign, Graham Dalton, Chief Executive of the Highways Agency, said:

"Between 2003 and 2007, 10 roadworkers were killed and 81 were seriously injured while working on motorways and major A roads in England. One accident is one too many, and these tragic incidents are avoidable. Road workers are out there doing a job to make journeys better for road users.

They work close to moving traffic every day and deserve our respect for doing so. Our new toolkit is about encouraging drivers to use appropriate behaviour whilst driving through roadworks, to respect those working there and to help the construction and maintenance industry to do as much as it can for them too."

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Barry Westwood South East Regional Performance Manager, in the Highways Agency, said:

"Driving safely through roadworks saves lives. Loss of life, or a serious injury, is a very real threat to these workers, and so is physical and verbal abuse. They are there doing their job. The road is their office.

"Cones, barriers, signs and reduced speed limits are there for a reason - to protect our workers from danger and keep the public safe.

I urge all drivers to pay close attention to safety when driving near roadworks."

Nick Ross said:

"Driving quickly through roadworks might not seem like a problem from inside your vehicle, but it's frighteningly quick if you're working on the carriageway, and careless driving represents a terrible danger to road workers."

For more information about the "Respect our Road Workers" campaign, visit http://www.highways.gov.uk/roadworker There are six simple messages for drivers near road works:

1: Keep within the speed limit - it is there for your safety.

2: Get into the correct lane in good time - don't keep switching.

3: Concentrate on the road ahead, not the roadworks.

4: Be alert for works traffic leaving or entering roadworks.

5: Keep a safe distance - there could be queues in front.

6: Observe all signs - they are there to help you.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

1. The Highways Agency is an executive agency of the Department for Transport. We manage, maintain and improve England's motorways and major A roads on behalf of the Secretary of State.

2. Key facts about road workers on the Highways Agency network: Breakdown of the severity of incidents involving road workers on England's motorways and major A roads:

2003: Fatals = 2; Serious or Major = 17; Slight = 42 2004: Fatals = 1; Serious or Major = 17; Slight = 43 2005: Fatals = 5; Serious or Major = 12; Slight = 38 2006: Fatals = 2; Serious or Major = 21; Slight = 41 2007: Fatals = 0; Serious or Major = 14; Slight = 29

A survey (2004) of 400 road workers on England's motorways and major A roads, found that: - 77 per cent had suffered verbal abuse from passing drivers - 54 per cent had a near miss with a vehicle - 40 per cent had experienced objects being deliberately thrown at them (e.g. coins, cans) - 13 per cent had suffered a slight personal injury (e.g. bruising) - 3 per cent had suffered a major personal injury (e.g. broken nose) - 89 per cent thought that drivers had accidents at roadworks as they were driving too fast, while 76 per cent thought is was down to the drivers' lack of concentration and 73 per blamed it on drivers not reading road signs.

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3. The "Respect our Road Workers" DVD and supporting materials have been developed by the Highways Agency, with support from Balfour Beatty, Amey, Atkins, Chevron, Carillion, Transport Scotland, the Welsh Assembly and the Department for Regional Development Northern Ireland. The DVD and materials are available for use by any organisation that wants to educate or inform their staff, supply chain or their audiences on road worker safety - visit: http://www.highways.gov.uk/roadworker 4. The Road Workers' Safety Forum (RoWSaF), which the Highways Agency is a member of, is a voluntary, cross-industry group of representatives with sufficient knowledge, experience and authority to recognise and address issues that affect the safety of road workers chaired by the Highways Agency. The focus of RoWSaF's activities is to continuously improve safety for road workers by developing, implementing and disseminating best practice, improving methods and standards of working, and supporting the trials of new techniques and equipment.

5. Real -time traffic information for England's motorways and major A roads is now available:

* From our new Traffic Radio service, available on DAB digital radio and the internet at http://www.trafficradio.org.uk To tune into the DAB service, simply press the "scan" button on your radio. The radio will tune into all available channels and you can select the new service by scrolling through the channels until you reach "Traffic Radio".

* On the internet at http://www.highways.gov.uk/trafficinfo

* By phone from the Highways Agency 24-hour voice activated phone service on 08700 660 115. (Calls from BT landlines to 0870 numbers will cost no more than 8p per minute; mobile calls usually cost more).

Before using a mobile, find a safe place to park. Never stop on the hard shoulder of a motorway except in an emergency. Make sure it's safe and legal before you call.

6. For more general information about the Highways Agency and its work, visit the Highways Agency website http://www.highways.gov.uk, or telephone the Highways Agency Information Line on 08457 50 40 30 at any time. (Calls to 0845 numbers cost no more than 3p/min from BT residential landlines. Call charges from other landlines and mobile networks may vary)

Receive our national and regional press releases by RSS and get the latest headlines straight to your desktop the moment we publish them to our website. Choose to receive a national press feed or one of our regionalised feeds - go to http://www.highways.gov.uk/rssnews for more information.

For information about road worker safety in another region, please contact: ]

North West: Nigel Ellis, 0161 952 4507 North East: Ian Farrimond, 0191 202 3694 Yorkshire & Humber: Sheila Perry, 0113 341 3180 West Midlands: Filippa St Aubin D'Ancey, 0121 352 5516 East: Timma McKean or Jenny Thompson, COI on 01223 372797 / 84 East Midlands: James McDonald, 0115 971 2785 South East: James Wright, 01883 745 364 / Stuart Thompson, 01306 878110 South West: COI SW - Robin Miller, 0117 900 3559 / Wailim Wong, 01752 635053 Nationally: Kelly Logan, 0207 153 4824 (24 hour number).

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