California Department of Transportation

Headquarters - Public Affairs Office

Tamie McGowen
(916) 657-5060

April 17, 2007

CALTANS BUCKS NATIONAL TREND: NO EMPLOYEE DEATHS IN CONE ZONES

April is national “Work Zone Awareness Month”

Sacramento – Bucking the national average, Caltrans announced today at its 17th annual Workers Memorial in Sacramento that there were zero employee deaths in Caltrans work zones in the past 12 months.

And, for the first time in four years, no Caltrans employee was killed anywhere on the job.

“Caltrans was fortunate to have no worker deaths last year, but we cannot forget the 166 men and women who lost their lives while working for the safety of the traveling public,” Director Will Kempton told 30 family members who were among hundreds of employees and families attending the Workers Memorial at the State Capitol.

According to the Federal Highway Administration, three worker fatalities occur nationally in all cone zones every five days.

A 23-foot long National Work Zone Memorial Wall, listing the names of all highway workers who have been killed in work zones across the nation, was the backdrop for the ceremony. Caltrans displayed 166 orange safety cones in the shape of a 48-foot caution sign. Each cone was emblazoned with the name of a Caltrans worker who died on the job since 1924.