Countywide : Road Safety Barriers Unveiled

Reacting to the death of an Orange County highway worker who was killed on the job five months ago, California Department of Transportation officials on Monday unveiled a special freeway barrier that is designed to keep cars away from construction and cleanup crews.

Caltrans Director James van Loben Sels showed off the safety barrier, called the Dragnet Vehicle Arresting Barrier, at a special ceremony in Orange.

The event, at a Caltrans maintenance yard, marked the start of a campaign dedicating the month of October to reducing injuries and fatalities of highway workers.

“We’re trying to heighten the awareness of the public, make them aware of the hazards,” van Loben Sels said.

“This safety barrier is essentially a rubber band made of metal. It is designed to stop the vehicle without undue injury to the driver.”

The safety barriers, which resemble chain-link tennis fencing, have been used successfully elsewhere in California, and now the transportation agency plans to install them at two key freeway interchanges in Orange County in early October.

They will be added to the interchange between the Santa Ana, Garden Grove and Orange freeways, as well as the interchange between the Santa Ana and Costa Mesa freeways.

Five Caltrans workers have been killed this year while on the job, van Loben Sels said, adding that fatalities among highway worker are higher than among patrol officers.

“Although this is average, it’s five deaths too many,” van Loben Sels said.

The highway safety campaign--dubbed “Give ‘Em a Brake” month--is designed to make the public more aware of the importance of respecting the orange cones or barricades.

Whenever motorists see the orange cones or a barricade, according to van Loben Sels, they should steer clear and be patient if there are any traffic detours.

About 90% of highway worker fatalities are caused by drunk drivers, said Carolyn Charkey, Orange County chapter president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the keynote speaker at the ceremony.

“This is definitely a step in the right direction,” said Jimmi Torres, 38, one of 200 Caltrans workers who attended Monday’s ceremony.

“It’s pretty tragic that a lot of motorists are pretty ignorant about what we’re trying to do,” Torres added.

“We’re just going to have to keep hammering away at the public.”