Nothing surprises me anymore

KTA employee Kenny Olson

Kansas Turnpike Authority (KTA) employee Kenny Olson shared his story in 2017 about work zone safety. Kenny retired from KTA after 14 years of service.

_____________________

When you’re out on the roadway for a living, you hear, see and sometimes even experience scary moments. 

My name is Kenny Olson and I’m a Roadway Striping Foreman. I’ve been with KTA for 12 years and I have had more close calls on the roadway than many would think. Just last summer, I had vehicle crashes happen at two different times while painting roadway lines.

One of these was in Wichita on the entrance ramp from the K-96 plaza. We were painting the white line on the right side, early in the morning when a driver came down the entry ramp way too fast.

Because of her speed, she wasn’t able to move out the way in time and hit the corner of our attenuator (the crash cushion hooked at the back of a truck) and then bounced and hit the guardrail. She was lucky she didn’t hit the truck again after that but rather carried all the way through the right of way.

The other happened near Lecompton where the road goes from three lanes to two. We were on the right with the striper when, for a reason I still don’t know today, a semi-truck locks up his brakes while in the left lane. His cab cut between the attenuator truck and the truck ahead of it, and jack-knifed.

The trailer whipped so fast that it hit the attenuator sideways and ended up back in the roadway, blocking traffic. The driver just backed up and drove away! Luckily a trooper caught up to him at a service area soon after.

These are just my two most recent experiences, but there’s been so many more. From a motorist not paying attention and actually driving their vehicle between the barrier wall and our striping machine to another driver purposely driving into the grass and back up onto the road to avoid driving through the work zone. Nothing surprises me anymore, and that’s the sad reality.

We can take as many safety precautions as necessary, making changes to safety procedures, but ultimately, drivers need to pay attention. People are in such a hurry, on their phones, or even having a dog on their lap licking their face (yes, that was a real thing I saw once on the road). Leave sooner. Watch the roadway signs. Pay attention.

Too many close calls to even remember

KDOT employee Brian Link with his family.

KDOT employee Brian Link shared his story in 2018 about the need for safety in work zones. He has continued to serve as the Highway Maintenance Supervisor in Johnson County, and he’s been with KDOT nearly 25 years.

_________________

My name is Brian Link. I have worked for KDOT for 17 years and am currently the Area Supervisor for Johnson County. During my time I have seen numerous crashes in and out of work zones. I personally have been struck two times on separate occasions while providing traffic control for maintenance operations.

The first time occurred while I was sitting on the shoulder in a dump truck with an arrow board. I was struck from behind by a car that was involved in a crash with another vehicle. My truck and I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

My second crash happened while we were patching potholes with a mobile lane closure. I was in the attenuator truck following the patch crew. The car that hit me had passed two other KDOT trucks on the shoulders stationed behind me to give advanced warning of the patching operations.

I was fortunate not to sustain any injuries from these crashes: although the people who hit me did suffer minor ones. These are just two examples of my personal experiences, but I have had too many close calls to even remember them all.  I try not to tell my wife about them all, as I do not want to worry her more about the danger that we face every day at work.

I think the biggest concern for me is even with all our lights, traffic control and advanced warning; our safety is in the hands of the citizens that travel the road every day. We rely on them to drive undistracted, not under the influence of drugs or alcohol, alert and to have their brain engaged and focused on the task of driving.

I sometimes feel the citizens driving do not see us as people with a family. A family we love and want to go home to. Furthermore, we are objects in their way obstructing their busy schedule, a nuisance that causes them to be delayed.

I want people to know that we are there providing a service to maintain the safety of the roadway. We have a job to do serving the citizens of Kansas and visitors to our great state. Give us a brake…pay attention, slow down and give us a lane.

Work Zone Safety - A Mom's Worst Nightmare

In 2010, Shirley McDonald shared her story about losing her son, KDOT employee Scotty McDonald, in a work zone fatality crash that happened in 2005.

This is just one of several stories that Shirley has shared during the past 20 years to help raise awareness of why work zone safety is so important. She has also spoken at events, appeared in public service announcements and talked with media.

Her efforts to improve work zone safety through the years are immeasurable. We’ll never know how many lives she saved from being lost in a work zone crash because her message slowed someone down, got them off the phone or made them more alert.

Please remember Shirley’s message every time you are in a highway work zone.

 ______________________________________

By Shirley McDonald

Promoting work zone safety is a very personal issue for me. Whenever I pass a work zone, I am immediately reminded of the day my son, Scott McDonald, was killed while working.

What bizarre circumstances came together at the exact seconds that the driver left the road and struck him, tossing him into the air and eventually ending his life a short time later due to a massive head injury? Did the whole accident last long enough that he was aware and scared for his life? Was he in horrible pain during the last minutes of his life? Was he aware that others were with him within seconds struggling to save him? Did he know that he was not alone? Did he know how much we loved him?

Last weekend I traveled on local, state, and interstate highways where I became convinced that construction zone work is one of the most dangerous occupations that exist. I drove through the areas on a hot summer day with Kansas dust blowing, cars speeding by with little, if any, awareness of, let alone attention to, work zone speed limits or hazards. I saw drivers smoking, eating, talking on their cell phones, reading maps, disciplining children, just to note a few examples of less-than-attentive driving.

Occasionally my van rocked from the speed of drivers passing by and the force of the wind. The distance separating the work zone and workers from traffic sometimes looked like only inches, especially when concrete barrier blocks were set up or the area being constructed was small, like a two-way road with one lane each way, or an intersection in a high-traffic area. The workers concentrated on their work and seemed to be looking out for each other.

I thought about the workers out in those elements and how the weather must be affecting them and their ability to stay focused. I also wondered how they deal with the potential dangers without becoming too fearful to continue to do their jobs.

How can the workers protect themselves from the dangers all around? How can we who enter the work zones promote their safety? How can we promote the knowledge that those who work in a work zone are loved and valued individuals with someone waiting for them to come home?

 

Shirley McDonald is the mother of KDOT employee Scotty McDonald, who was killed in a work zone crash in 2005.

Never become complacent

Rick Carson, seated in center, is surrounded by his family.

 

KDOT employee Rick Carson shared his story in 2020 about the need for safety in work zones. He was promoted to Highway Maintenance Supervisor in January, and he has worked at KDOT for 10 years.

________________

My name is Rick Carson, and I am the Equipment Operator Specialist for the Syracuse Subarea office. I am coming up on my fifth year as a KDOT employee, having served as Specialist since July 2017.

During my short tenure as a KDOT employee, I have seen quite a few different circumstances that could have turned out very bad. I learned from early on that the best thing you can do to keep yourself safe is to keep your head on a constant swivel.

One of the most unforgettable experiences happened to me in the summer of 2019. We were patching holes on K-27 in the south part of Syracuse. The stretch of road
way is a four-lane undivided highway. The crew was working on the inside lane of the northbound lane. We had set up our work zone prior to beginning work with all the proper signs, cones, attenuator and a wedge diverting traffic into the right-hand lane. 

At some point that morning, I was standing along the center line, but still in the lane we were working in. There was some debris that had rolled over the center line, and I was going to step over the center line to sweep it back over into the hole. I was facing the north and looked to make sure no traffic was coming. 

I never looked south because there shouldn’t have been any traffic coming from that way, because we had our wedge set up pushing them right. WRONG! A truck coming from the south had crossed over the double yellow line. It was traveling north in the southbound lane and what was probably over the speed limit.

Luckily, one of my co-workers was looking that way and was able to get my attention, and I was able to step out of the way.

Thinking about it later that day, the one word that came to my mind was COMPLACENT. That day, at that particular time, I had become complacent and overly comfortable with my surroundings.

To my fellow KDOT workers, I would just like to remind you all that no matter what you are doing, always take the extra time to look around and make sure that you are doing it carefully. And always watch out for your co-workers.

To the traveling public, KDOT does what they do, to try and keep your family safe on the highways. So, in your travels, if/when you come up on any workers, anywhere, PLEASE, slow down, move over and obey the signs. Drive like it’s your family out there along the side of the road. Because we ARE somebody’s family.

 

Three seconds and Move Over Law

Lt. Tanner Blakesley's car was struck at full highway speed, which was propelled into
another vehicle that struck Lt. Blakesley and seriously injured him.

Kansas Highway Patrol Lt. Tanner Blakesley wrote his blog in 2022 about a crash that occurred in 2017 when he was a Master Trooper. He has served with the KHP for more than 10 years.

 

Lt. Tanner Blakesley

_____________________________

By Lt. Tanner Blakesley, K28

I was a road trooper in the Topeka area for two years when I woke up in a ditch. The driver of the vehicle we had stopped was standing over me, asking me if I was okay. I realized I had been hit by my patrol car after a passing vehicle struck the rear of my car at full highway speed. Since that day, I have become a strong enforcer of the "Move Over Law."

That January was the first day I was training a new trooper. We had stopped a vehicle on I-470 in Topeka, and it became necessary to have the occupants exit their vehicle. I exited the patrol vehicle to help the new trooper with this task. I approached the driver's side of the vehicle, got the driver out of his car, searched him, and escorted him into the ditch.

During this time, several cars had not moved over. I diverted my attention from traffic and towards the new trooper while he had the passenger exit the vehicle. The next thing I remember is waking up in the ditch. I did not know what had happened. I was able to put the parts of my broken memory together after seeing the video from my patrol car cameras and talking to individuals at the scene. There’s nothing like seeing video of yourself launched off your vehicle's windshield into the air.

Three seconds after walking between the stopped vehicle and my patrol car, another vehicle hit the rear of my patrol car. The impact of my patrol car being hit propelled it into the vehicle I had stopped. Unfortunately, I was hit by the corner of the patrol car and thrown into the ditch. Three seconds later and my life, along with the driver of the stopped vehicle, could have been very different. Most likely, we both would have died that day because of a careless driver not moving over for emergency workers on the side of the road.

After waking up, I didn’t know just how bad I had been hurt. The new trooper checked on me first and told me not to move. I could see the new trooper was taking control of the crash scene. Luckily, he had managed to dive over the guard rail and escape serious injury.

Even though I knew I was hurt, I had adrenaline pumping through my body and got myself up and went up the ditch to help. I quickly realized my injuries were serious; I had to sit down and wait for more help. It would be four months before I returned to work, but I know I was lucky to be alive and lucky to be able to even go back to work.

Vehicles must Move Over or Slow Down for emergency vehicles and work crews not just because it is what the law requires, but because when a vehicle does not, it doesn't allow time for those in the way to react and try to get out of harm’s way. It's easy to become complacent when every day you see many cars not moving over.

Three seconds on one cold January day could have ended differently for several people because of an individual's carelessness and disregard of the Move Over Law. 

 

Note: The Kansas Move Over Law expanded on March 13 when Governor Laura Kelly signed Senate Bill 8, or the Move Over bill, into law. Drivers will now be required to move over to the outside lane or slow down and proceed with caution when passing disabled stationary vehicles displaying hazard warning lights.

This will help provide protections to disabled vehicles in addition to law enforcement, utility and road service vehicles. The new law will go into effect on July 1.

 

 

A nutty, but still serious day

Jeff Romine and his family.

KDOT employee Jeff Romine shared his story in 2018 about the need for work zone safety.  He has continued to serve as the Area Five Superintendent in District One, and he has now been with KDOT nearly 42 years.

________________________________________________

My name is Jeff Romine, I am currently the Area Five Superintendent in Wamego. I have worked for the Kansas Department of Transportation for 35 years.  I started out as an Equipment Operator in 1983. 

Safety has been improved for KDOT employees and for the public a great deal since I first started working for KDOT. For example, I can remember having to set up six signs when setting up a work zone, three on each side.  Now, depending on the situation, there may be a combination of 10 signs, cones and rumble strips to alert traffic of a pending work site.

During my tenure at KDOT, I have seen many close calls ranging from cars hitting the flagman’s flagging paddle to the mirrors of cars striking workers in the work zone. I have been lucky enough not to see any deaths as a result of a work zone crash, although there have been some.

One of the crashes that stands out in my mind happened in the summer of 1986 on U.S. 75. We were providing traffic control while Equipment Operators using equipment cleaned bridge decks. All our work signs were up and flagmen in the correct locations. 

I was helping to provide traffic control; it was a clear mid-morning day. I stopped a van to allow traffic to pass through from the other lane. I then moved closer to the center of the roadway and checked for other oncoming traffic.

I noticed a car that seemed to be moving faster than I considered to be safe. I realized he was not slowing so I tried to get his attention by waving the paddle as there was still traffic coming from the other direction.  

I alerted the driver of the van of the oncoming car, and I was forced to jump over the guard rail and into the ditch. The car hit the van from behind, causing the back of the van to bust open. The van was carrying a load of bagged walnuts.  Immediately the highway was covered with walnuts. I ran back out to check on the drivers of both vehicles, thankfully finding them not severely injured. 

As other vehicles continued in the other lane, they were running over the walnuts causing them to shoot through the air, this of course caused another danger as the walnuts pounded workers and other cars.

I can laugh about it now and joke that 32 years later, walnuts still haunt me. But the seriousness of that situation will never be funny. An adult could have been in the back of that van. Or a child. And they could have been injured, or worse.

Please drive safe in work zones and protect everyone – motorists and highway workers.

 

National Work Zone Awareness Week: Safety is a priority all year long

 National Work Zone Awareness Week is coming up April 21 to 25. This important safety campaign educates the public of the importance for safety in work zones for both highway workers and the traveling public.

KDOT, KHP, KTA, FHWA and other transportation safety partners work together raise awareness on work zone safety. As part of Kansas' safety campaign, stories from five highway workers who have shared their experiences in year's past will be highlighted here again. These stories highlight what highway workers potentially face every day - close calls or actually being hit while in work zones. 

In addition, one story from Shirley McDonald will be featured in the series. Shirley's son, KDOT employee Scotty McDonald, was killed in a work zone crash in 2005. She has spent a lot of time the last 20 years writing blogs, speaking at events and talking to the media on why work zone safety is so important. She knows. Even after 20 years, the loss and grief haven't gone away. 

Please remember - these folks have families too, and they want to go home safely every night. Take that extra minute to slow down, ditch all distractions and pay attention. 

The work zone safety blog series will start tomorrow and run all next week. Please share these stories with everyone - think about if someone you cared about was a highway worker.