Highways England has called for an end to abuse and endangerment directed at road workers after a contractor was struck by a car in roadworks last week.
The worker was taken to hospital with a minor leg injury following the incident at Rising Bridge roundabout along the A56 in Lancashire, which had just been closed for the night as part of an improvement project there.
A Highways England description of the situation suggested an altercation had arisen after the driver found the area blocked off with cones.
When one of the workers made the driver aware the road was closed, the driver allegedly shouted abuse and sped past, striking the worker’s leg and colliding with a contractor’s flatbed truck before driving off.
The car registration was reported to Lancashire Police which is now investigating the incident.
Alan Shepherd, Highways England’s regional director in the North West, said: 'Our workers routinely face verbal abuse from drivers as they do their job and shockingly this led to one of them being injured earlier this week.
'Road workers are trying to do a difficult job to improve drivers’ journeys and often work at unsociable hours overnight when traffic levels are at their lowest.
'No one should have to suffer this kind of abuse just for doing their job, and I hope drivers who have been abusive to road workers or attempted to drive into roadworks in the past will reconsider their attitudes as a result of this incident.'
