Notts: New poster campaign launched to make drivers slow down for council road workers

New posters alerting motorists to the presence of road workers operating on the highway are being launched by Notts County Council.

The new posters feature a small boy wearing a hard hat and hi-visibility vest with the slogan: “Slow Down: Kill your speed, not my Dad”.

Already used widely in other areas of the country, the posters are being introduced in a bid to improve safety for highways teams working on Notts’ roads.

The council’s is highways teams are out in all weathers, all year round and at times it’s a dangerous and life-threatening task.

Since September 2010, the workforce has encountered 14 reported incidents which have ranged from traffic speeding through road works to one worker actually being hit by a driver who refused to follow a signed diversion route. Luckily, the worker recovered.

On another occasion, a road worker was hit by a car while gritting a side street during winter

These are just a couple of examples – many more incidents go unreported.

“Looking after Notts’ roads can be a tough and dangerous job, but someone has got to do it – and it could be your dad, brother, uncle, cousin, or even sister working behind those cones,” said Coun Kevin Greaves, chairman of the council’s transport and highways committee.

“Although we regularly talk about safety on our roads, the attention is normally focused on road users – drivers, cyclists, motorcyclists and pedestrians – and it’s all too easy to forget about those people who actually work on the highways.

“These posters redress the balance and help to remind motorists that there are real people working behind those cones – with families waiting for them at home.”

The posters will be produced in a variety of formats and be used on-site wherever the council’s highways teams are at work at the side of the road.