Driving kindness home on the road: our crews are looking out for you, please be patient and understanding with them

By Elizabeth Mount

When drivers see orange signs, cones and an attenuator on the side of the freeway, it might be obvious that we have crews working to improve our transportation system. Other work zones we have may not be as obvious, like our Incident Response Team tending to the scene of a crash or crews driving snowplows during a winter storm.

Chris Clarke is a highway maintenance lead in east Snohomish County and has worked for WSDOT for nine years. Two winters ago, Chris was involved in a collision on US 2 while plowing snow.

Chris Clarke was out plowing on US 2 when a SUV crashed into him. The plow was slightly damaged, but the SUV was severely damaged.

With several mountain passes closed because of a big snowstorm, more cars were using US 2 for cross-state travel and Chris says the traffic was heavy that day. He was plowing westbound on US 2 near Index when a semi-truck heading eastbound began to slow down. The driver of an SUV behind the semi hadn't slowed down or allowed extra space between vehicles. She steered to the left to avoid rear-ending the semi and instead crashed into Chris's plow head on. Thankfully, neither Chris nor the driver were severely injured, but the driver's SUV was damaged.

According to the Washington State Patrol, the top reason for work zone collisions in 2023 was following too closely. Second and third place were excessive speed and distracted driving. All three of these reasons are entirely preventable.

The SUV that crashed into Chris Clarke’s snowplow two winters ago. Courtesy of Chris Clarke

A challenging situation made even worse

After the collision, Chris had a chaotic scene on his hands. The small SUV that struck Chris's plow was starting to smoke a bit and the driver was a slightly dazed. Chris says he was worried about the driver's well-being. He followed protocols, making sure emergency responders were on their way and alerting his supervisor. The conditions weren't letting up, though, and Chris says it was cold and even walking around was hard.

The worst part, though, was that while Chris was navigating the scene and ensuring the driver was okay, other drivers caught in the back up started taking their frustrations out on him. He says they yelled at him to move out of the way so they could continue their travels – even threatening to jump into his plow and move it out of the way. Sadly, this isn't unique to this crash. Other road crews have experienced firsthand threats, coffee thrown on them or various hand gestures while they are simply out on the job keeping roads safe for others.

A plow that Chris Clarke regularly drives when he’s plowing. Courtesy of Chris Clarke

Chris says the yelling was particularly frustrating because he was working as quickly and as safely as possible. He tried to explain that while a delay may be inconvenient, the highest priority is to make sure everyone involved is OK and first responders can get to the scene.

His message to travelers is simple: Slow down in work zones and please be patient. Especially in work zones or during a storm, everyone needs to expect delays. We understand that being stuck in the back up is an inconvenience, but our crews and other first responders work as quickly as possible to clear a scene and reopen lanes.

Lives on the line

This was the only instance where Chris was hit while working, but he says he's been in several close calls. He primarily works on US 2. He's seen high speed vehicles much too close to him while he's out repairing guardrail or filling potholes. We're seeing vehicles traveling much faster than usual across the state, putting our crews and everyone else on the road at risk.

A photo of Chris Clarke. Courtesy of Chris Clarke

Chris grew up in the same area he works, takes pride in his job and says the community is typically supportive of the different maintenance he and his crew do. He urges drivers to have empathy for those in collisions and to be understanding when crashes or delays happen. Our crews are travelers too – they understand the need to keep traffic moving. But sometimes that simply isn't possible when there are multiple collisions needing response or a difficult scene to clear. It's especially frustrating when those collisions involve entirely preventable crashes like people who chose to drive under the influence or use their cell phones while driving a vehicle.

Chris's story is a good reminder for people to be kind to our workers. They are trying to keep everyone on the road safe and improve the roadways – and their lives are often literally on the line.

We ask all drivers in work zones to:

• Slow Down – drive the posted speeds, they're there for your safety.
• Be Kind – our workers are helping to keep you safe and improve the roadways.
• Pay Attention – both to workers directing you and surrounding traffic.
• Stay Calm – expect delays, leave early or take an alternate route if possible; no meeting or appointment is worth risking someone's life.

At the end of the day, everyone is just trying to get where they're going and return home safely, including our crews and workers like Chris. Please do your part to make sure that happens.