Work Zone Safety Month aims to reduce crashes, deaths on interstates

Transportation leaders say there were more than7,000 crashes and 38 deaths in work zones across North Carolina last year, and that's too many.

State officials said at a news conference Friday that the goal of Work Zone Safety Month is to bring those numbers down.

Officials from the North Carolina Department of Transportation said drivers should slow down and follow the speed limit when they are in a work zone. Distracted driving and speeding are the two main causes of accidents in these areas, state officials said.

The purpose of the event was to remind drivers that construction workers are trying to do their jobs in a dangerous situation. Larry Holland knows the hazards of working along the highway: He lost his father in a work zone accident.

Holland's father died in an accident back in the 1960s, and he has been advocating for safety ever since then.

The safety campaign complements the N.C. Vision Zero initiative, which also aims to reduce crashes and encourage safer driving.