New Campaign for Road Worker Safety

Trunk Road Operating Companies Amey, BEAR Scotland and Scotland TranServ are launching a road worker safety campaign in conjunction with Transport Scotland to speak up for road workers in Scotland.

The campaign has been created to highlight the unsafe, reckless and anti-social behaviour of some road users which is putting workers lives at risk, as well as the abuse that the teams experience from passing motorists – often on a daily basis. 

It comes on the back of a survey among employees into the levels of unsafe driver behaviour and abuse that teams have experienced in the past year.

The survey includes reports of:

• Drivers ignoring red lights and temporary traffic signals at road works – A vast majority (83%) of those surveyed have experienced road users ignoring red lights.
• Drivers entering coned-off works – Over 70% of respondents have experienced private vehicles entering the works safe-zone area in the past year.
• Verbal abuse from motorists – Nearly three-quarters (73%) of employees have received verbal abuse from passing motorists in the past year.
• Missiles thrown towards workforce – One out of three road workers experienced missiles being thrown towards them in the past year by passing motorists. This included bottles of juice, coffee cups, eggs, foam bullets, food wrappers and banana skins – as well as reports of bottles of urine and even a dirty nappy being thrown.
• Threats and intimidation – a number of instances were reported of threatening behaviour being made to road workers manning road closure points

Scotland’s Trunk Road Operating Companies are calling on road users to be patient and respect the work force who are carrying out essential road maintenance.  Throughout the two-week campaign BEAR, Amey and Transerv will look to highlight some of the statistics and real-life accounts and experiences from their teams in partnership with Transport Scotland. 

Eddie Ross, on behalf of BEAR Scotland covering the North West of Scotland said:

“We understand that no one likes being held up at roadworks and we try hard to minimise disruption as much as possible. However, the behaviour of a small minority of passing drivers is unacceptable.  Ironically, our team during the winter are, quite rightly, considered to be winter heroes for keeping roads safe during snow conditions. At other times, when they are trying to keep roads safe by repairing them, they are subjected to abuse.

Andy Thompson, BEAR Scotland’s representative for the North East of Scotland said:

“We rely on our employees to keep our motorways and other trunk roads safe every day. From repairing potholes to cutting grass, replacing lighting to attending incidents.  There is no place for verbal or physical abuse, jumping red lights or speeding through roadworks past workers undertaking essential tasks.  Everyone is entitled to respect at work, no matter where their place of work is.”

Andy Fraser, Scotland TranServ’s Operating Company Representative said:

“More than two-thirds of our employees work on the trunk roads in the south west of Scotland every day. Their accounts of dangerous driving and the missiles thrown at them are chilling. Our operatives are real people, with real families; families who want their partners and parents to come home safely at the end of the working day.”

Tom Wallace, on behalf of AMEY in the South East and Forth Bridges said:

“No one should have to put up with this sort of behaviour in their place of work. It’s time we called out those motorists who drive recklessly, unsafely and ultimately put lives at risk just to save a few minutes.  Roadworks are our employees workplace; you wouldn’t dream about driving your vehicle through an office or a factory, so why do we suffer so many instances of vehicles entering roadworks.

 “Respect our workforce – kill your speed, not a roadworker.”

Look out for the campaign hashtag on social media - #RoadworkerSafety – to help spread the word in June.