A new campaign has been rolled out from the Connecticut Department of Transportation pleading with drivers to “slow down and move over."
“We all have a life outside of work, and we don’t want to lose it,” a first responder in the PSA video said.
The law requiring drivers slow down and move over has been on the books for roughly 15 years yet those working the roads said conditions year over year feel like they are getting worse.
“It’s scary, there is nothing truly blocking us, cones, barrels, I mean, it's so easy to go into a work zone,” said Marcus Stevenson, a roadworker with Tilcon.
Get top local stories in Connecticut delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC Connecticut's News Headlines newsletter.
Stevenson has been working the roads for over 30 years and couldn’t put a number on the amount of times a driver has come a little too close to the work he and his colleagues are trying to do.
“How difficult it is when they are trying to accomplish a job and still worry about someone coming in whether its forward or backwards,” said Stevenson.
According to the CT DOT, between 2017 and 2021, 16 people died in roadside crashes. When we asked road workers if conditions on the road are getting worse while they are trying to work, Stevenson made his thoughts clear.
“Has it gotten worse? The answer is absolutely, absolutely, are there more distracted people out there, people have more distractions in their lives, so yes, it's absolutely worse,” he said.
Other workers described the process of ensuring their own safety each day while on the job.
“It’s crazy sometimes you gotta make sure you have your runoff points,” said Matthew Clubine with the DOT.
'Runoff points' he described as an escape plan to ensure if a car unexpectedly veers into their work, they have an out to get to safety behind a solid structure like a guard rail.
“You gotta have your escape plan, when you’re out there on the road it's your life and you against a car you're not going to win,” he said.
Clubine noted the unfortunate reality is sometimes drivers don’t pay much mind to the crews trying to do their job, which increases the risk.
“Sometimes the motoring public doesn’t recognize too much that you are out there,” he added.
The new campaign highlighting the “Slow Down Move Over” law comes on the heels of a deadly summer on the state’s roads.
Including the death of Trooper First Class Aaron Pelletier along Interstate 84, which rocked the first responder and road crew community. Then just a month later, DOT worker Andrew DiDomenico was killed in Wallingford while picking up trash along the Wharton Brook Connector.
His alleged killer was just charged with second degree manslaughter charges on top of the DUI and motor vehicle misconduct charges she already faced.
“These men and women have lives outside work, and we have a responsibility to ensure they return home at the end of their shifts,” said Deputy Commissioner of the CT DOT Laoise King.
The campaign highlights the real lives of these workers, reminding people at home that the first responders and workers on the side of the roads have lives and families to go home to.
“You are literally putting people’s lives at risk, people who are out there to help the traveling public when you need them the most,” said King.
Stevenson said unfortunately the messaging is critical. Just in the last week he has watched 3 drivers come into his work zone. His message is simple. He wants the opportunity to go home at the end of every shift.
“Please just pay attention, please,” he said.
On top of the PSA, there will also be an increased emphasis on educational opportunities for experts to get into classrooms and community centers and senior centers to meet the driving community where they are.
There will also be opportunities for first responders and road crews to work on a safety course related to keeping themselves safe while working roadside.
