Held April 21-25 at the start of construction season, National Work Zone Awareness Week (NWZAW) is an annual spring campaign designed to encourage safe driving through work zones. Work zones challenge all road users—especially large trucks and buses—due to narrow lanes, sudden stops, traffic shifts, and uneven surfaces.
Led by the American Traffic Safey Services Association (ATSSA) in conjunction with state and federal agencies, the event encourages drivers to slow down, stay focused, and use extra caution approaching and passing through a roadway work zone.
This year’s theme is “Respect the zone, so we all get home. Actions behind the wheel can last forever.”
The 2025 weeklong commemoration included:
- Work Zone Safety Training Day – April 21
- National kickoff event – April 22
- The NCDOT Kickoff livestream can be viewed here.
- Go Orange Day – April 23. This event encourages people to wear orange in support of work zone safety and families of victims killed in work zones. Photos can be shared on social media platforms with the hashtags #NWZAW and #Orange4Safety.
- Social media storm – April 24. NCDOT will use Facebook, X, and other social media platforms to promote work zone safety.
- Moment of Silence – April 25. The moment of silence started in 2022 to remember the people whose lives were lost in a work zone incident.
From 2021 to 2023, work zone fatalities decreased by nearly 7 percent according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data. However, despite some progress, the number of fatalities in work zones remains high. In 2023, 899 people died in work zone crashes. In 2022, the most current year for which data is available on the causes of crashes in work zones: 34 percent of fatal work zone crashes involved speed as a factor; 21 percent of all fatal work zone crashes involved rear-end collisions; and 30 percent involved commercial motor vehicles including large trucks and buses.
FHWA is encouraging drivers to do their part to help reduce the number of fatalities further by reminding those behind the wheel that crashes in highway work zones happen most frequently when drivers are speeding or aren’t paying attention to changing road conditions.
FHWA is also urging drivers to take the following actions to improve work zone safety for everyone:
- Avoid distractions by putting down the phone and focusing on driving safely.
- Obey posted speed limits through work zones.
- Be aware of workers who are in construction areas close to travel lanes.
- Watch for pedestrians and bicyclists.
- Give commercial motor vehicles extra space in work zones because narrowed lanes, unexpected lane shifts and longer braking distances are challenges for large vehicles.
- Find another route, where possible, to avoid work zones.
- Follow detours and pay attention to signs displaying active work zones.
For more information, visit nwzaw.org. A promotion guide, planning guide, and poster are available for outreach purposes.
