N.C. kicks off NWZAW

NAPA members joined with officials and representatives from more than two dozen law enforcement and first responder agencies in Raleigh, North Carolina on Tuesday for the official kickoff of National Work Zone Awareness Week (NWZAW).

The Gov. W. Kerr Scott Building at the N.C. State Fairgrounds was lined inside and out with vehicles from local agencies to mark the occasion, which was the first time the Old North State has hosted the in-person kickoff event.

N.C. Governor’s Highway Safety Program Director Mark M. Ezzell emceed the event, which also included a video message from U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.

“We lose approximately 40,000 people on U.S roads every year. We have to get that number down, but that’s why National Work Zone Awareness Week is so important. It’s an easy opportunity for us to highlight how every driver can help keep work zones, and the people who work in those zones, safe,” Duffy said in his address. “Right now, we’re asking drivers to do their part: put down their phones, eliminate distractions, obey speed limits, and signs in and around work zones, follow detours, and keep an eye out for highway workers. As construction season ramps up this summer, we all have a role to play in protecting the men and women who build and maintain our great American roadways. Their safety depends on the choices we make behind the wheel.”