News-Record.com

No kidding. Cars whiz through the area every day, with nary a glance at the half-dozen or so men expanding the intersection's turn lanes.

"That's the biggest hazard you've got - people not paying attention," Hill said.

A renewed push is under way this month to safeguard workers from the drivers who pay little attention while passing through work zones. Gov. Mike Easley last week proclaimed April "Work Zone Safety Awareness Month." "National Work Zone Safety Week" wraps up today.

Easley uses the approach of another construction season to highlight some unsettling facts about the state.

In no particular order:

• Of all work zone crashes in North Carolina in 2003, only 3 percent involve alcohol.

• More than two-thirds of the state's roughly 5,400 reported work zone crashes during the same time span occurred on clear days. Even more took place amid dry road conditions.

• Almost 3,400 people were injured in 2003 as a result of motor vehicle crashes in construction, utility and maintenance work zones. Thirty-seven people died.

And here's a gem...

• According to the state transportation department, "it takes less than one minute longer to travel through a two-mile work zone at 45 miles per hour than at 65 miles per hour -- 49 seconds to be exact!"

A public outreach campaign, so cleverly dubbed "Drive Smart. Do Your Part," runs this month as well. The campaign entails school programs for both young and older kids. You also can expect to see more of Buddy Barrel and Connie Cone, two of the highway department's mascots.

Nothing says safety like two grown adults prancing around in $4,000 costumes. But that's beside the point.

If people slow down a little bit, take a deep breath and maybe, just maybe, leave five minutes earlier for appointments, work zone accidents should disappear faster than the fuel in a Cadillac Escalade.

"We just need drivers to recognize that work zones are hazardous not only for the workers but for the drivers, and they can modify their behavior to ensure safety," said Amanda Perry, a work zone safety specialist for the state. "Ideally we're going to get the number of deaths in work zones to zero."

Red Arrows

Bruce Chamberlin of Greensboro called me with questions about traffic intersections that have left-turn red arrows. He admitted it's been some time since he's hopped behind the wheel, but I thought I'd research his observations.

"I can't figure what the point in that is, putting an arrow saying you can't turn. Anybody knows you're not supposed to make a left-hand turn against traffic. That seems about one of the dumbest things traffic engineers have done.

"I'd like to know what their thinking is and how much it costs to do that, and if it isn't a danger to someone who might be colorblind. They're proliferating all over town."

You're right about the red arrows' proliferation, Bruce. But city transportation officials say the changes are saving the city money.

Solid red incandescent bulbs are being replaced by red LED arrows. LED, which stand for light-emitting diodes, save the city thousands of dollars each year in electricity costs.

The state's transportation department started encouraging cities to use the red arrows about three years ago. Its reasoning? To standardize North Carolina signals with traffic lights elsewhere in the country, where left-hand turns use red arrows rather than solid bulbs.

"As far as the colorblind issue, (red lights) are still on top," said Joe Mullinax, a traffic signal engineer for the city. "That's how a colorblind person tells any signal. The red is always on top (for vertical signals) or on the left (for horizontal signals) in North Carolina."

Final thoughts

This comment comes from "Down Under." Allen Wright, who lives north of Sydney, Australia, shares his suggestion for enforcing traffic laws.

Wright sent his e-mail in response to last week's column on red-light cameras and the UNCG police department's efforts to curb aggressive driving on Aycock Street.

"Seems many people don't like the idea of paying fines even when they knowingly have disobeyed road rules. One should make allowance for some who 'get caught out' by changed conditions and such ... these people could possibly feel hard done by.

"So I've a great answer. This will overcome the complaint that the police and city (are) simply revenue raising when they stop people disobeying road rules.

"In (New South Wales) we have Random Breath Test buses which the State Police use to find drunk drivers, who are fined or have their license taken away immediately. None are allowed to drive on after failing a breath test.

"Maybe Greensboro should have 'Random Cold Shower' buses. When a driver gets caught infringing the driving rules they can be made to take a cold shower and a lay down for 15 or so minutes to settle down. Still get the driving demerit point against their license, of course.

"I reckon that should work a treat!"