In Work Zones, Safety Remains a Concern

Although the number of crashes in Pennsylvania state highway work zones decreased last year, the number of fatalities has remained high. Six years since the state passed legislation increasing penalties for speeding in work zones, safety proponents are still looking at what more can be done. Efforts to keep a state trooper in every work zone are on the rise. But there are many factors that go into work zone safety, right down to how the work zone is laid out by the engineers. Speed enforcement can be difficult depending on how work zones are designed. Motorist behavior is a factor as well. “It’s completely dependent on driver behavior,” said Allison Wenger, a PennDOT spokeswoman. “We can preach and threaten and try to coerce, but really we need each driver out there to be conscious not to drive distracted, to slow down and to obey the flaggers.”