The Washington State Department of Transportation is getting tired of their work zone crew's lives being risked for no reason.

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WSDOT Sufferers 4 More Work Zone AccidentsOver the Weekend

There have been too many car crashes in Washington State Department of Transportation work zones so far this year, and now 4 more crews were involved in accidents this last weekend. Since the start of 2024, there have been so many work zone accidents that I have lost count. The first accident involving WSDOT crews back in January of 2024 sent 6 members to the hospital, and luckily everyone survived. The Washington State DOT posted back on January 21, 2024, a message from the families and friends of those involved. The message reminds people to remember that crews are "People with family, friends, co-workers who worry about them & want them to be safe. They take precautions, they make a plan, they set up safe work zones, and then one person makes a terrible decision that changes lives." That initial message has been greatly ignored with more than 10 different crews being struck already this year.

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Work Zones in Washington Recently Are Much More Dangerous

If you look at WSDOT work zone crash information history, workers in work zones have always faced dangers but those dangers have increased greatly over the last few years. WSDOT released work zone crash statistics for 2023 and found that fatal work zone crashes had doubled from previous years. It shows that the Washington State Department of Transportation workers face an average of 689 injuries per year, and some of those injured are not just workers. 95% of people injured in work zone injuries are motorists, their passengers, and pedestrians passing by. Since 2014 Washington State has averaged between 1,100 and 1,800 work zone collisions a year, including traffic backup collisions. This year has already seen huge increases in work zone crashes from previous years and has happened almost weekly since the end of January. So far luckily, there have been no fatality work zone accidents but I fear it is only a matter of time if people do not simply SLOW DOWN AND MOVE OVER FOR WASHINGTON STATE WORK ZONE CREWS!

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Gallery Credit: Stacker

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