Would it surprise you to know that a teenager is killed every three days in a roadway work zone crash...or that seven teens are injured in work zones every day? Pretty startling...and scary! Overall, you could fill a stadium with the people who are killed and injured in work zone traffic accidents each year--over 50,000!
To address the growing problem of roadway work zone crashes and the fatalities and injuries they produce, Congress called upon the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) of the US Department of Transportation to create a work zone safety awareness campaign for young drivers. FHWA then contracted with the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) to develop an educational campaign to reach teens of driving age nationwide. As a result, ARTBA developed a tool kit entitled: Turning Point: Roadway Work Zone Safety for New Drivers.
The tool kit features:
- A motivational video aimed at shaping new driver attitudes. Featuring a reality-based storyline, the video shows young drivers the real impact of their driving actions on human lives, especially their own.
- An interactive CD-ROM to teach teen drivers through "real life" driving/decision-making scenarios that instruct students and give them opportunities to respond.
- An educational web site that combines online learning activities with resource information and hyperlinks to other traffic safety-related sites.
- A searchable resources CD-ROM of available literature and other educational materials on teen driving and work zone safety...and containing videos and other resources such as Turning Point's instructional tools in Adobe Reader format.
The Pennsylvania Department of Education has received a limited number of the took kits for distribution to driver education teachers on a first-request basis. Driver education teachers desiring tool kits should send email requests to:
hsherman@pa.gov
