“Missiles are thrown. They’re threatened with being run over. This is not what you go to work to encounter. You go to work to do your trade.”
Roadworker abuse has become dangerously normalised across the highways sector, and the statement above, from Julie Davidson, head of business assurance at Jointline Limited, sits at the heart of a new six-minute documentary exposing the scale of the issue across the UK.
The film brings together voices from across the highways sector – also from Core Highways, TMCA, Beaumont TM, and HW Martin – to share first-hand experiences, challenge public perceptions, and highlight the scale of a problem many workers face every day.
What’s in the documentary?
The accounts are difficult to hear. Workers describe being threatened, verbally abused, having objects thrown at them, and, in some cases, being physically assaulted while carrying out essential work.
What makes matters worse is that many incidents go unreported because there is little confidence that reporting will lead to change. Very few incidences lead to prosecutions, and within the country as a whole, far too many members of the public feel entitled to take their frustrations out on workers for issues like roadworks and road closures.
Road workers are often the most visible part of a project, making them an easy outlet for frustrations that have been allowed to toxify for multiple reasons – not least due to a lack of awareness of the scale of work needed to keep the road network functioning as normal.
The documentary explores why this continues to happen.
What’s being done to fix the issue?
This new film, called ‘Every road worker deserves to go home safe’, also highlights the work already underway to tackle the issue.
Initiatives such as RAISE (the Road Worker Abuse and Incursion Safety Exchange) are encouraging better collaboration between businesses in the sector. Their aim is to bring organisations together to improve reporting, share intelligence, and build a clearer understanding of where abuse occurs and how it can be prevented – including more meaningful consequences for offenders.
The hope is that momentum for real, meaningful change can build across the highways sector – but success both short term and long term will require action from contractors, clients, industry bodies, the police, and the public – all working together.
‘Every road worker deserves to go home safe’ was produced by Re-flow Field Management. Click here to watch the short film now.
The post New six-minute documentary shines a light on roadworker abuse – available now appeared first on Planning, Building & Construction Today.
