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Most drivers will see roadworks as an inconvenience. Something that will slow their journey down. And, of course, it can be frustrating driving along a motorway or trunk road at a reduced speed. But what most of us forget is that all those cones and reduced speed limits are there for a reason, and that is to protect the people who are working to repair the roads.

Despite all these precautions, 10 road workers were killed and 81 seriously injured between 2003 and 2007 while working on Britain's  motorways and major A-roads. In an attempt to get drivers to obey the speed limits and pay more attention when driving through roadworks, the Highways Agency (HA) has launched a Respect our Road Workers campaign.

The aim is to teach drivers, with the help of their employers, why the speed restrictions are in place, and to recognise the valuable job road workers do. To support the campaign, the HA has produced a DVD that will be available for employers to use when training their staff.

The disc includes a film designed to shock drivers. It portrays a car crashing into a school and an operating theatre, as well as through the cones at roadworks. The idea is to get drivers to think of roadworks as a workplace for those maintaining the roads, and to treat it as they would any other workplace. There will also be a radio-based campaign.

Mobile training

Hauliers that want to  train their drivers on requirements for driving through roadworks can make use of the HA's mobile training vehicles. HA chief executive Graham Dalton says tragic incidents in roadworks are avoidable and he is encouraging hauliers to get involved with the campaign.

He adds: "Road workers are out there doing a job to make journeys better for the road users. Our toolkit is about encouraging drivers to use appropriate behaviour while driving through roadworks."

While the Respect our Road Workers campaign is aimed at all drivers, not just hauliers, the HA is hoping to get the message across to professional drivers first in the hope that their behaviour will be a catalyst to the rest of the driving population. What do to in roadworks:

• Keep within the speed limit – it is there for your safety
• Get into the correct lane in good time and don't keep switching
• Concentrate on the road ahead, not the roadworks
• Be alert for works traffic leaving or entering roadworks
• Keep a safe distance, there could be queues ahead
• Observe all the signs, they are there to help

Between 2003 and 2007, 10 road workers were killed and 81 seriously injured.

• 2007 - No fatalities, 14 major injuries and 29 slight injuries
• 2006 - Two fatalities, 21 serious injuries and 41 slight injuries
• 2005 - Five fatalities, 12 serious injuries and 38 slight injuries
• 2004 - One fatality, 15 serious injuries and 43 slight injuries
• 2003 - Two fatalities, 15 serious injuries and 42 slight injuries

A survey of 400 roadworkers in 2004 found:

• 77% had suffered verbal abuse
• 54% had had a near miss with a vehicle
• 40% had had objects thrown at them deliberately
• 13% had suffered minor injuries such as bruising
• 3% had suffered major personal injury such as a broken nose
• 89% thought accidents in roadworks happened because people were driving too fast
• 76% thought drivers did not pay enough attention passing through roadworks
• 73% believed drivers did not read road signs for roadworks

The Highways Agency website contains further information on the campaign.