Company Announcement - Master Builders Association North has introduced another measure in its campaign to reduce the number of road fatalities and accidents in the building industry: special stickers to keep road safety constantly in the mind of construction company’s drivers and the motorists they encounter on the road. The sticker campaign, which calls for bad driving and road conditions to be reported, has been launched in collaboration with the Arrive Alive Online initiative, which is working in close collaboration with MBA North, and has devoted an entire section on its prominent website to Road Safety near Construction Zones. In terms of the new stickers, reports of dangerous driving and road conditions will be forwarded to the National Traffic Call Centre at 0861 400 800  number.

Doug Michell, Occupational Health & Safety Manager of the MBA North, says the new sticker campaign forms part of the Association’s drive to impart a safety culture among members. “MBA North members will each receive 30cm x 6cm stickers to attach to the rear of their vehicles to keep road safety in mind of vehicles passing MBA members’ trucks and LDVs, as well as a smaller sticker for the dashboard of the vehicles to keep the construction drivers themselves mindful of  road safety at all times,” he explained. “MBA North is extremely concerned about the constantly rising number of road fatalities and serious accidents incurred by contractors’ vehicles,” he stated. “It’s not surprising – just one overloaded bakkie involved in a serious accident could kill or maim six, seven or more workers.”

On its website, Arrive Alive says in the USA, for example, thousands of people are killed when traffic has to pass through road construction or maintenance works every year. The numbers of construction zone injuries and fatalities are predicted to climb even higher. The majority of these fatalities are drivers or occupants but pedestrians, bikers and construction workers are also at risk.

Arrive Alive says the main causes of deaths and injuries at construction zones are:

• Speeding traffic - the major cause of death and injury in highway construction work zones;
• Inadequate sign-posting and lighting, and drivers failing to notice road workers;
• Drivers not paying attention to work zone signs or flaggers indicating they should slow down or come to a stop; and
• Drivers distracted by cellular phone calls, conversations, and activities at roadside and consequently not merging properly.