Road Work Crash Deaths Decline

PennDOT doubled the money it spent to post state police at work zones in 2001 after realizing that is the best way to curb accidents, injuries and deaths that happen there. The effort not only is to protect construction workers, but motorists making their way through the zones. The number of people killed in construction areas dropped by 30 percent, according to PennDOT. PA is also considering the use of flashing and strobe lights at work zones and having construction workers trade the traditional PennDOT blaze-orange vests for lime green uniforms – just to be sure a weary driver doesn’t mistake a road worker for a construction barrel. Traffic fines are double in work zones, but police acknowledge it’s difficult to enforce inside the construction area, where lanes might be tighter than normal and finding spots for police cruisers to safely monitor motorists’ speeds and catch violators is often not feasible. That’s why they focus on slowing motorists down before the work zones.