Albert Horn, Kansas Department of Transportation Supervisor in Edwardsville, knows you have to be alert every second in a work zone.

“On several occasions, most of us have had to run for cover, safety or protection because we heard tires screeching, horns blaring and brakes being applied,” Horn said.

Early in his KDOT career, Horn was collecting trash along I-35 in the Kansas City area when a semi-tractor trailer locked its brakes and jack-knifed while avoiding another vehicle.

“The rig slid past me before ending up in the median about 100 feet from where I was standing,” he said. “I then realized how fortunate I was and how dangerous this job could be.”

Horn told these stories at the statewide safety event today in Topeka. He was joined by fellow KDOT employee Gary Moulin, Transportation Secretary Mike King and Kansas Highway Patrol Major Mark Goodloe.

The safety event was one of several activities taking place in Kansas as part of National Work Zone Awareness Week, April 15-19, which is an effort to raise awareness of the hazards and dangers highway workers and motorists face every day.

Last year in Kansas work zones, 608 people were injured and eight people were killed (one highway worker from R.A. Knapp Construction Inc., one pedestrian and six motorists).

More information on work zone safety can be found on KDOT’s website, www.ksdot.org by clicking on the Go Orange logo.

The link includes safety blogs from KDOT employees and other transportation partners, photos of people wearing orange in support of highway workers, various videos and other safety information.

When traveling through a work zone, motorists should:

-Follow traffic control

-Stay alert

-Watch for workers

-Expect delays

-Allow ample space between you and the car in front of you

-Change lanes when directed to do so