Respect road workers: CCTV footage shows reckless driving at roadworks

Shocking footage released today shows the risk faced by people working to improve or maintain the UK’s motorways and major A roads.

The video clips feature two examples of workers narrowly escaping serious injury when inattentive drivers ignore signs on the road and do not slow down. The footage has been produced as new figures show that last year saw the highest number of serious injuries among incident response teams since 2007, with 10 road workers suffering major injuries.

The footage released today includes:

A lorry almost crashing into a Highways Agency Traffic Officer vehicle which was attending a breakdown on the M6 near Birmingham. This was despite a red ‘X’ being displayed on the overhead gantry to show the lane was closed.

And,a lorry continuing in a lane where a red ‘X’ has been displayedon an overhead gantry and then crashing through the traffic cones protecting a maintenance crew.

The Highways Agency’s advice for driving safely at roadworks is simple:

• Keep within the speed limit – it is there for your safety
• Get into the correct lane in good time – don’t keep switching
• Concentrate on the road ahead, not the roadworks
• Be alert for works traffic leaving or entering roadworks
• Keep a safe distance – there could be queues in front
• Observe all signs – they are there to help you