Ridgewood NJ, In recognition of National Work Zone Awareness Week, Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G) urges customers to stay alert when driving near work zones. When driving in and around work zones drivers must be attentive and alert to changes – changes that a distracted driver may not notice in time to prevent an accident.
“Every day we have hundreds of employees working in the street to keep the lights on and homes safe and warm,” said John Latka, senior vice president of electric and gas operations for PSE&G. “To ensure their safety and yours, please slow down and pay full attention when driving through work zones.”
PSE&G crews are continuously working on projects to improve electric reliability and ensure that we can continue to support a safe, clean and reliable gas system well into the future. To ensure traffic moves safely, PSE&G employees, local police, and licensed and approved contractors provide cones, flagmen and signage at work sites, as needed, to minimize interruptions.
National Work Zone Awareness Week is an annual spring campaign to encourage safe driving through work zones. Driver-related factors that affect work zone crashes include speeding, in-vehicle distractions and inattentive or aggressive driving. In 2014, the most recent year for which national data is available, distracted driving was a factor in 16 percent of fatal crashes in work zones, while speeding was a factor in 29 percent.
