Federal

A resolution supporting the designation of the week of April 17 to April 21, 2023, as "National Work Zone Awareness Week".

Source: Congress.gov · 824 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This resolution asks the Senate to support calling the week of April 17 to April 21, 2023 "National Work Zone Awareness Week." The resolution encourages people and organizations to take steps to make work zones safer for both drivers and road workers.

Who It Affects

Drivers and passengers in vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists, construction and maintenance workers, truck and bus operators, road infrastructure owners and operators, towing and recovery professionals, and first responders.

Key Provisions

The Senate supports designating April 17 to April 21, 2023 as "National Work Zone Awareness Week" (Sec. 1(1)). Individuals are encouraged to educate themselves about work zone safety training and best practices (Sec. 1(2)). Drivers are encouraged to practice work zone safety by researching routes ahead of time, avoiding distractions, obeying flaggers and signs, slowing down, maintaining space between vehicles, and making room for towing and recovery professionals (Sec. 1(3)). Infrastructure owners and operators are encouraged to use work zone protections and technologies like the Work Zone Data Exchange to make roads safer (Sec. 1(4)). The Senate supports the goals of "National Work Zone Awareness Week" to increase awareness about worker and driver safety in work zones (Sec. 1(5)).

What Changes

This resolution expresses Senate support for the designation. It contains no requirements or legal changes.

Important Definitions

None defined in bill text.

III 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. RES. 130 Supporting the designation of the week of April 17 to April 21, 2023, as ‘‘National Work Zone Awareness Week’’. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 28, 2023 Mr. BRAUN (for himself and Mr. BLUMENTHAL) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to RESOLUTION Supporting the designation of the week of April 17 to April 21, 2023, as ‘‘National Work Zone Awareness Week’’. Whereas 857 work zone fatalities occurred in 2020, according to the Federal Highway Administration (referred to in this preamble as ‘‘FHWA’’) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, under the Department of Transportation (referred to in this preamble as ‘‘DOT’’); Whereas, of the 857 work zone fatalities that occurred in 2020— (1) 680 fatalities were motor vehicle drivers or pas- sengers; (2) 170 fatalities were persons on foot or bicyclists; and (3) 7 fatalities were listed as occupants of a motor vehicle not in transport, unknown occupant type in a VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:00 Mar 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR130.ATS SR130 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •SRES 130 ATS motor vehicle in transport, or device and person on per- sonal conveyances; Whereas, according to DOT data from 2020 on work zone fatal traffic crashes by type— (1) 156 crashes involved a rear-end collision; (2) 208 involved a commercial motor vehicle; and (3) 287 fatalities occurred where speeding was a fac- tor; Whereas 156 pedestrian fatalities occurred in work zones in 2020, according to DOT data; Whereas, of the 156 pedestrian fatalities that occurred in work zones in 2020— (1) 51 fatalities were a construction, maintenance, utility, or transportation worker; and (2) 105 fatalities were pedestrians other than a con- struction, maintenance, utility, or transportation worker; Whereas the DOT reported that 44,240 people were injured due to work zone crashes in 2020; Whereas, according to the FHWA, while work zones play a critical role in maintaining and upgrading our roads, work zones can also be a major cause of congestion, delay, and traveler dissatisfaction; Whereas, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Ad- ministration, trucks and buses have limited maneuver- ability and large blind spots that make operating in work zone areas more challenging, leading to a dispropor- tionate number of work zone crashes involving trucks and buses; Whereas enforcement of work zone speed limits is shown to significantly reduce speeding, aggressive driving, fatali- ties, and injuries; VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:00 Mar 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR130.ATS SR130 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •SRES 130 ATS Whereas work zone crashes and fatalities deeply impact fam- ily, friends, and communities; Whereas being under the influence of intoxicating substances while being behind the wheel of a motor vehicle increases the likelihood of intrusions into work zones; and Whereas work zone fatalities are at the highest level since 2006: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Senate— 1 (1) supports the designation of the week of 2 April 17 to April 21, 2023, as ‘‘National Work Zone 3 Awareness Week’’; 4 (2) encourages individuals to educate them- 5 selves on the value of training and the importance 6 of best practices in regard to work zone safety; 7 (3) encourages individuals to practice work zone 8 safety by— 9 (A) researching their routes ahead of time 10 to avoid work zones when possible; 11 (B) avoiding distractions while driving; 12 (C) obeying road crew flaggers and being 13 aware of and obeying all signage throughout 14 work zones that indicate reduced speeds, lane 15 changes, and other vital information; 16 (D) slowing down when entering a work 17 zone and being vigilant of road workers; 18 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:00 Mar 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR130.ATS SR130 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •SRES 130 ATS (E) merging into an open lane when in- 1 structed to do so when lane closures are present 2 and slowing down and merging over for first re- 3 sponders; 4 (F) maintaining a space cushion when 5 driving behind other vehicles to avoid rear end 6 crashes; and 7 (G) providing towing and recovery profes- 8 sionals room to facilitate the process of clearing 9 crashes; 10 (4) encourages infrastructure owners and oper- 11 ators to deploy work zone protections and tech- 12 nologies such as the Work Zone Data Exchange to 13 make travel on public roads safer for workers and 14 road users; and 15 (5) supports the goals and ideals of a ‘‘National 16 Work Zone Awareness Week’’ to bring further 17 awareness to worker and driver safety while maneu- 18 vering a motor vehicle in work zones. 19 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:00 Mar 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\SR130.ATS SR130 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS

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