A Safety Net for Our Highway Workers : Caltrans to Install Barriers on O.C. Freeways, But Drivers Still Need to Exercise Caution

Making highway work safer isn’t easy, especially when it involves workers who are on the job at night when much of the maintenance and construction work is done. The problem is that sleepy drivers--or, worse, motorists who have had too much to drink--too often ignore warning devices, such as orange cones and flashing lights, and plow right through safety barriers.

In the last five years, more than a dozen state workers have been killed by drivers who have intruded onto construction sites, including one worker who was killed on an Orange Freeway site last April. That’s far too many casualties.

The California Department of Transportation is now trying something new in Orange County. Last week, Caltrans announced the installation of a chain link-type net barrier that unravels from both sides upon impact. The “Dragnet Vehicle Arresting Barrier” will be installed at the interchanges of the Santa Ana, Garden Grove and Orange freeways and the interchange between the Santa Ana and Costa Mesa freeways. It’s a good step that should help prevent deaths.

Announcement that the nets, which have been tried on the Harbor Freeway in Los Angeles, would be installed came as Caltrans was launching its “Give ‘Em a Brake” safety awareness campaign during the month of October. The campaign is designed to call drivers’ attention to the need to respect safety warnings on the freeways. California drivers would do well to remember that in many states highways are closed down during construction--a rarity in this state, where drivers are a strong political force. But having roads kept open during construction also means that drivers have a special responsibility to heed warning signs, both to avoid a mishap for themselves and to set a good example for other drivers.

As for those who routinely ignore such responsibilities, perhaps the “Dragnet” will help save a life.