ANNAPOLIS, MD – Lt. Governor Aruna Miller today joined the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration and State Highway Administration to provide an update on the progress of Work Zone Safety Work Group.
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Lt. Gov. Miller announced the work group will be seeking public input through a public survey, giving Marylanders the opportunity to share their thoughts in the ongoing work of the group to make work zones safer.

Through October 12, Marylanders can visit ZeroDeathsMD.gov/WZSurvey to complete the survey. The Maryland Highway Safety Office staff will also be administering the survey at Motor Vehicle branch offices throughout the state. 
 

“I am proud of progress that the Work Zone Safety Group has made thus far through ongoing collaboration and partnership between highway safety experts, members of law enforcement, and individuals with experience working on these sites,” said Lt. Gov. Miller. “Yet, the astonishing number of crashes on Maryland work zones makes it clear that we need a change in culture regarding work zones – and that culture change must come from drivers themselves. That’s why I’m calling on Marylanders to provide their input and be a part of the process to make our work zones safer for the people who work on them.” 

Across Maryland on any given day, there are on average 1,000 roadway workers improving Maryland’s transportation infrastructure at more than 300 work sites, in addition to law enforcement personnel.

Announced in April 2023 by Governor Wes Moore, the work group is chaired by Lt. Gov. Miller, a former transportation engineer, and is made up of individuals with expertise in the transportation sector, members of law enforcement, labor leaders, and individuals with direct experience in work zones.

The Work Zone Safety Work Group will put forward a comprehensive set of recommended actions by the end of the year to keep roadway workers safe and decrease the number of crashes that occur in construction work sites on Maryland highways.​ The group is exploring updating how work zones are set up, increased enforcement, and increasing driver awareness and education through a combination of regulatory, executive, and legislative actions. 

“We are actively developing ideas to drastically change driver behavior about work zone safety to keep highway workers safe and to ensure they go home at the end of the day uninjured,” said State Highway Administrator William Pines. “Road workers call work zones their offices and we all need to slow down and move over – it’s the law.” 

“Being the chair of the Roadway Operations Work Zone Safety Subcommittee, I am charged with developing concepts that change driver behavior while they navigate work zones,” said State Highway Administration Deputy Administrator and Chief Engineer of Operations Teri Soos. “Our work will protect highway workers from danger.” 

“Our focus is changing the behaviors of drivers – to emphasize to everyone that we ALL have a personal responsibility to drive safely so lives aren’t lost on our roadways,” said Motor Vehicle Administrator and Gov. Moore’s Highway Safety Representative Chrissy Nizer. “The current number of crashes and fatalities in Maryland is unacceptable and if drivers do not change their behavior now, we are going to experience more needless deaths as a result of motor vehicle crashes.”