Safety call for motorway workers

Workers have reported a high level of abuse from drivers

Drivers on Scottish roads are being urged to consider how they would like to work with vehicles rushing past at up to 70mph.

The Roadworker Respect campaign to safeguard workers from danger and abuse is being run by south of Scotland operators Amey and Bear Scotland.

They said that 81% of roadworkers in central and southern Scotland had been abused by motorists.

A spokesman said the incidents included both verbal and physical attacks.

The figures also showed that 77% of "near misses" recorded at roadworks in 2006/07 in south west Scotland were down to driver behaviour.

The Roadworker Respect initiative is supported by national transport agency Transport Scotland and the RAC Foundation's National Motorway Month campaign.

Have respect

Bruce Donaldson, Amey's unit manger for south west Scotland, said road workers did their job in a place where cars often "whizzed" past at 70mph.

He said: "With 80% of them saying they are abused on a daily or weekly basis, it is unacceptable and something we have to do something about.

"With this campaign we are trying to get drivers to behave themselves.

"Get them to drive carefully, drive safely through the road works and have some respect for our workers."

John Murphy, of BEAR Scotland which maintains the trunk roads in the south east and north east of Scotland, added: "By raising the awareness of the travelling public to the dangers and hostile response that these guys often face in their everyday work, we would hope to see a reduction in the abuse that they have to face in providing, what is after all, an essential service."

Across the UK, five roadworkers were killed on the network in 2005, including an Amey colleague on the M8 near Glasgow. Roadworkers are particularly vulnerable at short term or overnight road works sites, the firm said. In the 12 months to February this year, almost 100 "near miss' incidents at roadworks were reported on south west Scotland's main traffic routes, causing a "serious and very real threat" to lives, campaigners added.