DOTD Secretary Shawn Wilson continues to urge drivers to not drive distracted. The seconds that someone’s eyes are off the road and on a cell phone can have dire consequences and Wilson says of the three deaths with DOTD road workers under his leadership since 2016, distracted driving was to blame for two of them.
“They are all preventable. There is only so much we can do in terms of making our roads safe but you still have driver responsibility,” said Wilson.
Wilson says earlier this month, another DOTD employee, Dwayne Pitre, was seriously injured while picking up litter in a work zone near Carencro. Once again, distracted driving was believed to be a factor.
“The car swerved into the median and hit him and he’s got some pretty significant injuries. He’s going to be out of work for several months and have undue financial burdens placed on him and his family,” said Wilson.
Wilson says the department is stepping up safety measures.
“We are changing the light regime and the striping on our vehicles. We’re putting new safety gear and uniforms on our employees that are going to be retro-reflective,” said Wilson.
Noise-making cones are also going to be placed in front of work zones to alert workers when drivers are swerving out of their lanes.
