ATTENTION ILLINOIS DRIVERS: SLOW DOWN IN CONSTRUCTION ZONES!
The Chicago Sun-Times reported that a construction worker suffered leg injuries earlier this week when he was struck by a vehicle while picking up equipment on the Dan Ryan Expressway on the Near South Side. The worker on foot was picking up equipment in the southbound lanes of the Dan Ryan near West 26th Street when he was struck around 4:30 a.m. on Wednesday. He was taken to Stroger Hospital in serious-to-critical condition. Downstate, two different wrecks in a 24 hour period near construction zones brought traffic on Interstate 57 in Franklin county to a standstill earlier this week. And earlier this spring, two people died and one was injured in a fiery four-vehicle crash that shut down the Interstate 80 for more than three hours. This is just a sampling of countless stories of construction workers and motorists being injured or killed in work zones by drivers who are speeding or who are simply inattentive.
81 people were killed in work-zone related accidents in a two year span from 2006 to 2008 ; 29 in 2006, 21 in 2007 and 31 in 2008. The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) and state officials are urging drivers to slow down and respect the workers and the construction projects. Motorists need to obey the posted speed limit in a construction zone regardless of whether there are workers present or not. According to Priscilla Tobias, the State Safety Engineer for IDOT, "Conditions such as narrow or reduced lanes, edge drop offs, equipment next to moving lanes of traffic and lane closures all require a reduction in speed within the work zone. This reduction in speed will not only help save a life of a worker, but it may very well save your life."
IDOT hopes to achieve zero worker fatalities and reduce the number of work zone crashes by five percent each year. to help achieve this goal, IDOT is urging drivers to slow down, put away your cell phones and limit other distractions as a work zone has many different situations happening that need your undivided attention.
If drivers aren't persuaded by these cautions, perhaps they will be persuaded by the possibility of a minimum $375 fine for speeding in a work zone. This fine increases to $1000 plus a 90-day license suspension for the second and any subsequent offenses. These fines apply regardless of whether workers are present in the work zone at the time of the offense. IDOT plans to use photo speed enforcement vans to reduce speeding in work zones. The photo speed enforcement vans are clearly marked and have a speed indicator board mounted on top displaying the motorist's speed, giving them time to reduce their speed before entering the enforcement zone. If a motorist fails to slow down after seeing their speed posted, a digital photo is taken of the vehicle, driver and license plate and sent in the mail to the registered owner of the vehicle.
Please, obey the posted speed limit in work zones and limit distractions so that everyone arrives home safely.
