Orange Cones, No Phones Project Reaches Out to Alexandria

A number of Alexandria businesses have signed onto a campaign to help educate their employees about distracted driving in construction zones.

The Orange Cones, No Phones project was launched after research from AAA Mid-Atlantic and Transurban-Fluor found that 55 percent of Capital Beltway drivers currently use their phones while driving and one in four of those drivers say they are texting. About 210,000 drivers travel the Beltway in Virginia every day.

Of those Beltway drivers on the phone, 57 percent say they are on the phone while driving because they feel their employer expects an immediate response.  In addition, 52 percent say their employer does not have a formal policy regarding distracted driving. 

An employer that signs on to the initiative “has complete flexibility to raise awareness in their organization” as it sees fit, said Michelle Holland, public affairs manager for the Capital Beltway Hotlanes Project for Transurban. The Orange Cones project offers an electronic toolkit and other resources to participating businesses.

“By signing on, they are showing their support and it’s important on a local and national level. Government leaders, transportation leaders are taking a proactive stand,” said Holland. “What we’re trying to do is make it culturally unacceptable for people to be on their phones while in a construction zone.”

Holland said both large and small businesses have signed on. "You can make a difference in an employee's life and in their family's life" by  making people more aware of this dangerous driving, she said.

Some of the local businesses participating include the City of Alexandria Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities Department, Curves, Comfort Inn Alexandria, Stewart and Partners, PRSourceCode and the Club Managers Association of America.

Old Town and other parts of Alexandria have construction right out their back door on Telegraph Road. It’s not just an issue limited to Fairfax County,” Holland said.