Work Zone Awareness Week

WORK WITH US:  Slow Down and Stay Alert

Warmer weather means the start of a historic season of construction and maintenance work on Missouri’s roads and bridges. In 2025, Missourians can expect to see 800-1,000 work zones on any given day. Within these work zones are thousands of individuals just doing their jobs to help make transportation in Missouri better. Let's do our part to keep them safe, so that they can go home and complete this important work.

Remember, not all work zones look alike. Work zones can be moving operations, such as striping, patching or mowing. They can also be short term, temporary lane closures to make quick repairs or remove debris from the roadway. In any case, slowing down and putting the phone down are two steps all Missourians can take to make work zones safer. 

Remember:  We all have a role to play in keeping work zones safe. Slow down and put the phone down while driving. We're all better off for it.

Speed and distracted driving are the leading causes of work zones crashes in Missouri. Last year, aggressive driving contributed to more than 50% of work zone crashes last year. In Missouri, Motorists are required by the ‘Move Over’ law to slow down or change lanes when approaching law enforcement, emergency response vehicles and highway workers parked on the side of the road or in a lane.

Driver inattention is an equally concerning cause of crashes in work zones. Last year, more than 350 work zone crashes in Missouri involved a driver distracted by their phone. The average text takes five seconds to read. Traveling at 55 mph, you will travel more than the length of a football field—blindfolded. MoDOT’s slow moving maintenance operations move as slow as 10 mph and if you aren’t paying attention to the road, you will come up on the closed lane very quickly.

Help us keep work zones safe for everyone, especially the men and women who work in them every day. Slow down and put down the phone.

Videos on YouTube

Work Zone Awareness 2020 PSA (English)

Be More Than a Memory

Work Zone Awareness 2019 PSA (English)

Be Your Own Hero 

Work Zone Awareness 2019 (Spanish)

Be Your Own Hero 

  Work Zone Awareness 2019 (English- 15 sec)

Be Your Own Hero 

Work Zone Awareness 2019 (Spanish 15 sec)

Be Your Own Hero