Plea to consider Manx road workers after rise in near misses

A safety campaign has been launched to protect Isle of Man road workers

The safety of people who carry out work on roads is being put at risk by "inconsiderate and aggressive driving", the Manx government has said.

Drivers have been urged to slow down when passing roadworks in a plea from the infrastructure department, Douglas Council and utilities providers.

Ian Jackson from the local authority said its staff reported near misses on a daily basis.

It was "critical" that motorists drove at a safe speed near them, he said.

The safety campaign has been launched by a forum of agencies that employ road workers for construction and maintenance jobs as well as the installation of utilities.

Chaired by the Department of Infrastructure (DOI), the group includes Manx Utilities, Manx Telecom, Sure and Isle of Man Energy as well as Douglas Council.

Slow down

Infrastructure Minister Tim Crookall said the group's shared examples of recent near misses had led to the creation of the campaign to highlight the risks staff face.

Head of project delivery at the department Gary Saunders said all road workers were "members of our community with families who expect them to come home unharmed".

Mr Jackson, who is an assistant chief officer at Douglas Council, said motorists who went "too fast" and did not pay attention to surroundings were putting staff at risk.

"Our message is please make sure you slow down and drive under the designated speed limit at roadworks, look out for road workers and obey signals from traffic controllers," he added.

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