Drivers who travel on Route 611 near Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania find it to be quite difficult in recent weeks with a lot of construction work going on. The area has a maze of barriers in the middle lane. While some drivers find it annoying and challenging to drive here, the conditions are even more challenging for constructio workers who must work among the barrels and motorists who are not paying attention to the road.

Last week, things in this rural part of Pennsylvania took a scary turn when three PennDOT workers were hit in this construction area while they were patching potholes. That incident coincided with National Work Zone Safety Awareness Week. 

This is an annual national effort every spring to highlight the importance of safe driving in construction zones for both commercial and regular drivers.

Pennsylvania State Police said that the tractor trailer that caused the above accident in a construction zone was following another vehicle too closely and rear ended that vehicle into the road workers.

Our View

Our Virginia personal injury attorneys are glad that National Work Zone Awareness Week is a national campaign, and we hope that increasing awareness of the importance of driving safely in construction zones will reduce the number of accidents. Whether the vehicle is a commercial truck or private car, all drivers need to use great caution when driving in construction zones. Be sure to obey all speed limit signs and go even slower if conditions warrant it.

There were 96,626 work zone accidents across the US in 2015, which was an 8% increase from the year before. It is estimated there is a work zone crash every 5.4 minutes in the US, and there are 12 work zone accidents per week that result in at least one death. 

If you are in a car or truck accident in a construction zone and your negligence leads to injury or death, you could face both criminal and civil consequences. Our Virginia and North Carolina truck accident attorneys work on many personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits where negligence on the road leads to very serious injuries and sometimes death, such as this $3.5 million truck accident lawsuit. Remember to drive in a safe manner at all times on the roads, and especially in construction zones where there are workers present.