Workzone Warriors – Tales from the Concrete
Talking about workzone safety is important, but it’s the stories from the people in the field that bring it home for all of us. These people are moms, dads, sons and daughters. They have kids at home and people are waiting to see them at night. Today we have some experiences with Mike Tomazycki.
Michael Tomazycki has over 16 seasons of experience as an inspector on local roadways and 
expressways throughout Michigan.
I have seen many vehicles get on the wrong side of the traffic control devices, hit traffic control devices, hit other vehicles, drive reckless in work zones, etc. Many times I’ve heard a loud bang, picked my head up from my work, got in an athletic stance, and briefly thought “if that’s a vehicle heading in my direction, can I run or jump or something to safety?”
Whenever I work around traffic, I park my vehicle so that a vehicle would have to hit it prior to me, walk as far away from the barrels as possible, and look every few seconds to make sure a vehicle isn’t coming toward me in a work zone. Even if a worker is doing all the right things, they still may be side swiped in the work zone.
I have noticed that when traffic doesn’t drive recklessly, obeys the reduced speed limit, and merges in an orderly fashion, it is an environment that is much less stressful for both the workers and the drivers.