Road workers in Northamptonshire to be protected from abuse with new ‘Stamp it out’ campaign

Northamptonshire County Council and KierWSP, the organisation that looks after roads across the county, are calling on residents to support the ‘Stamp It Out’ campaign to protect road workers from abuse.

The purpose of the campaign is to help change the law on the abuse of essential workers, including those working in transport and highways. It aims to put a stop to verbal abuse, threatening behaviour and assault from members of the public, who feel that they are being inconvenienced or delayed on their journeys.

KierWSP has even reported that highway workers have experienced having missiles thrown at them by drivers or passengers, who have had a grievance about where the road works are taking place and the short-term inconvenience it causes for traffic.

Every day, over 4,000 workers put their lives at risk by working on roads to keep them open and safe. Road worker abuse is a growing concern across the UK and affects the physical and mental health and wellbeing of workers on a regular basis.

Northamptonshire County Council cabinet member for Highways and Place, Cllr Jason Smithers, said: “We are asking people to consider the way they drive through our road works and treat our teams. The restrictions are there to protect everyone and we really do want to get the works completed as quickly and as safely as possible.”

“If you ignore speed restrictions, stop signs, road closure signs and coned areas, you’re not just risking the life of road workers - you’re also putting yourself and others in danger. Everyone has the right to feel safe at work and nobody should ever feel threatened, intimidated or assaulted because of the job they do.”

‘Stamp it out’ hopes to see abuse of all kinds eliminated within the road network and transport industry. The campaign is calling for the UK government to toughen legislation around the abuse of road workers and to support them by raising awareness of the vital role they play in keeping the country’s infrastructure going.

Communications manager for KierWSP, Rebecca Miller, said: "Roadworks are our place of work and the people carrying out the work deserve just as much respect as you would expect at your workplace. On busy roads, day and night, in all weather we risk our lives improving our highways. Imagine being just feet away from a vehicle as it hurtles past.

"It is only a matter of time before there will be a serious accident if people do not change their driving habits so we are asking people to be more aware and consider the way they drive when they see roadworks.

"We experience a lot of dangerous or abusive behaviour on the roads and have had people driving through coned areas and narrowly missing our workers. This is not worth it just for the sake of getting to your destination a little faster."

Driving through half a mile of roadworks at 70 miles per hour takes just 10 seconds less than driving at 50 miles per hour - a 10 second saving, which puts lives at risk.

Ms Miller added: "Speed restrictions, cones, barriers and signs are there to protect is all, but equally, to make the travelling through works safe for the public. There is often more than one victim and that victim could be the driver."

The petition calling on the UK government to make assaulting highway workers a specific criminal offence requires 10,000 signatures to be considered by the government.

For more information, please contact Rebecca Miller at [email protected].