NARRATOR: The following scenario is just one of many that have occurred to MDOT employees
which could have had disastrous results if the worker had taken just one more step.
JIM GAUS: What kind of a day was it? SCOTT STILSON: It was a sunny and clear day. Midday.
Typical lane closure. We were on southbound 127.
Right lane was closed, we were doing concrete deck patches.
Typically, after hammering out and getting ready to pour, traffic at that time had backed up little bit,
they're not zipping 73 in a work zone, like they normally do.
So they were doing 45, let's hope they were. And our patch,
one of our patches was close to the center line and I was on my hands and knees finishing around the edge of the concrete,
Unbeknownst to me, I wasn't paying attention, totally my fault,
I was finishing this edge, and when I come up, get off my hands and knees,
I stepped outside the lane closure to finish the edge near the centerline,
a mirror from a pickup truck hit me in the side. Jolted me, of course.
I distinctly remember getting knocked, not completely over, but jarred to the side.
The visual in my mind, as I remember, looking at that vehicle going down the road past our jobsite
with a mirror on the passenger side folded to the door.
And visually, again, I remember stuck in my mind is looking in that rearview mirror and seeing
that young man's looking at me in that rearview mirror,
and just kept on driving. I guess just, me as a person, if I were to hit something or somebody on a road,
I would think I would want to at least pull over and stop to see if everything's OK. But that did not happen.
JIM: You were in their lane at that point. SCOTT: Yes. Completely my fault.
Again, doing my job, trying to get it done, not paying attention,
not being beware, which I should be at all times. JIM: What kind of lane-width did you have there?
SCOTT: 12-footer. And we did not have barrels. Keep in mind, we just had cones.
JIM: Were they right on the skip-line then? SCOTT: Yes.
JIM: Could you have possibly squeezed that lane, then, possibly?
SCOTT: You can. You know, again, it was quite a few years ago. It depends on if there was a shoulder,
if there's a barrier wall, if it's tight on that side. We can't squeeze them over,
so sometimes we might have to put the cones right on the centerline.
JIM: What could you have done differently? SCOTT: Me, personally, could have took a look.
When I finish this side here, make sure, maybe try to move some cones out a little bit to slide them over.
Have somebody watch. You always try to do that anyways. JIM: Have a spotter, yeah.
You've been out working most of the season, or part of the season already.
Do you think it may have been because you were getting a little complacent?
SCOTT: I think, no. I just think in the zest to get the job done, to move to the next patch,
because we had multiple patches if I remember correctly. I'm behind them finishing off them patches.
Just doing my job, just finish the edge, not paying attention, just took one step out,
and luckily that's all I got was a mirror to the side. It could have been a lot worse.
JIM: Did you have to go to the clinic or the hospital?
NARRATOR: Mr. Stilson also followed the required procedure after his incident.
He had his injury checked at a medical facility and completed an injury/illness incident form, #0003.
SCOTT: You know, I've got enough fat here, I think it saved me a little bit.
JIM: Did you have a nice bruise for awhile? SCOTT: Yes, I did.
It did fold the mirror right to the door. I mean, it was a good thing it was one of those flexible mirrors,
it folded right to the door. So, I was lucky. One more step, if I had took two steps,
I could have took the front of the vehicle. So...
NARRATOR: A work zone separates the workers from the motorists.
Intruding into the live lane of traffic could be the last thing you do.
Don't get complacent. Think about the task at hand and how do it safely.
Think about the work zone set-up, and always look out for each other.