"Safety stand-down" in Georgia highlights construction dangers
OSHA is partnering with construction contractors, the Federal Highway Administration, the state of Georgia and local government organizations in a safety stand-down hour at construction sites around Georgia during National Highway Work Zone Awareness Week, which ends tomorrow.
Workers voluntarily are stopping work at construction sites from 7 to 8 a.m. EDT to conduct work zone safety training focused on the prevention of distracted driving, such as texting while driving, and worker injuries from traffic objects and vehicles. Objects and vehicles striking workers are the leading cause of construction-related deaths. Approximately 75 percent of struck-by fatalities involve heavy equipment such as trucks or cranes.
"The members of this alliance have demonstrated initiative and leadership organizing this safety stand-down industry-wide throughout Georgia to emphasize the importance of work zone safety. The stand-down will heighten construction workers' awareness of and ability to identify and eliminate work-related hazards," said Cindy Coe, OSHA's regional administrator for the Southeast.