Work Zone Safety Law in Pennsylvania
Apr 20th, 2010 | By Michael L. Saile, Jr., Esq. | Category: Blogs, Pennsylvania Injury Information
Attention Pennsylvania drivers: It’s Work Zone Awareness Week (April 19 – April 23).
Though the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) encourages motorists to use caution and care when driving through work zones at all times, this week they hope to highlight the importance of safety toward workers and motorists alike.
In 2009, 4 highway workers and 19 motorists died unnecessarily in 1,513 Pennsylvania work zone car accidents. It is crucial for drivers to slow down in work zones as well as be attentive to sudden changes in traffic patterns in order to avoid car accidents and worker injuries. These numbers were up considerably from 2008, at which time 1,417 car accidents occurred and there were 2 fatal accidents.
Does it seem fair that the people who improve our roadways and bridges to make them safer for us to drive upon are at risk of being hit by our cars, trucks, and motorcycles while doing their job? Road crews take precautions to help prevent physical harm to them, such as wearing hard hats, boots, and brightly colored safety vests. Here’s how we can do our part to better ensure their safety: follow the posted work zone speed limit, pay attention to work zone signs and flaggers that have been put in place, turn on your headlights, do not tailgate, and remain undistracted (i.e. no cell phone use, no texting, no programming electronic devices).
There is a Work Zone Safety Law in effect in Pennsylvania, which states that motorists found driving 11 miles per hour (or more) over the posted speed limit in an active work zone will automatically lose their license for 15 days. The same 15-day license suspension penalty applies to a driver involved in a Pennsylvania work zone car accident who is convicted of failing to drive at a safe speed. Fines for traffic violations committed within an active work zone are doubled. These traffic violations include speeding, driving under the influence, and failure to obey traffic signals. Close to 500 Pennsylvania motorists had their licenses suspended in 2009 for committing work zone violations.
Active work zones are not hard to spot. In fact, Pennsylvania interstate road projects with a cost of $300,000 or greater have a speed monitoring device in place displaying motorists’ speed as they enter the work zone. Let’s start paying attention and help reduce road crew injuries and fatalities. Urge your family members and friends to do the same.
The Pennsylvania car accident injury lawyers at Saile & Saile LLP are committed to raising awareness of good driving habits in order to keep all of us who use Pennsylvania’s roadways safer and less likely to cause a PA car accident. If you have been injured in a car accident due to someone else’s carelessness, contact us for a free consultation.
