Road Worker Day of Remembrance 2024
By Peter Frazer OAM
President, Safer Australian Roadways and Highways (SARAH) Group
Founder, National Road Safety Week
November 9th is Road Worker Day of Remembrance (RWDOR). This day has been established to honour the Road Workers who have lost their lives or suffered serious injuries while working diligently to keep our roads safe.
Road Workers are the unsung heroes who play a pivotal role in upholding the infrastructure that our communities rely on daily, often at great personal risk to themselves. Just like anyone heading to work, they deserve to return home safe to their loved ones, every day, with no exceptions.
Sadly, in recent years, we’ve been witness to many heart-wrenching incidents, where news of another injury or loss has left us all deeply affected.
In 2022, Austroads reported an average of 18 fatal crashes and 245 serious injuries at work zones every year. One death or serious injury is one too many and it is completely unacceptable that workers should face these risks continuously at their workplaces.
A Traffic Management Association of Australia (TMAA) survey of more than 1,500 Traffic Controllers released this month shows the alarming number of incidents reported by workers during their shifts around the country.
The survey notes:
- 53 percent of respondents, or 795 Traffic Controllers, encountered vehicles that fail to stop at traffic control sites at least once a week
- 49 percent, or 735 Traffic Controllers, reported being nearly struck by a vehicle driven by a distracted driver
- 44 percent, or 660 Traffic Controllers, reported near misses from speeding vehicles while at work in the last 12 months.
Road Worker Day of Remembrance was originally established by Altus Traffic to honour their team member 44 year old father of four Timmy Rakei, who was killed in Melbourne in 2021 when a speeding and disqualified driver struck him as he was setting up road cones. The driver was travelling at 100 kph in a 40kph work zone. Timmy’s colleague Shaun Kilmartin was also seriously injured.
Caption (Left to Right): Peter Frazer and Altus Traffic CEO Ben Marsonet with the tribute TMA dedicated to Timmy Rakei.
This year I am honoured to take the lead for the event with the support of many fantastic organisations including Roads Australia, Traffic Management Association of Australia (TMAA), Roadmarking Industry Association of Australia (RIAA), the Australian Flexible Pavement Association (AFPA) and many LGAs across the country who are helping to drive awareness of road worker safety.