As part of National Work Zone Awareness Week, staffers and leaders with PennDOT and the Pennsylvania Turnpike on Monday urged motorists to drive more carefully and attentively in and around work zones around the Commonwealth.At a news conference outside the statehouse, PennDOT secretary Mike Carroll urged drivers to be vigilant around work zones as they approach them and to avoid distractions like cellphone use.”Please make the safe choice. I know everyone is in a hurry, I know everyone wants to get where they’re going quickly, but please slow down in work zones,” he said.As part of an effort to memorialize those killed in work zones, PennDOT and the PA Turnpike Commission have placed cones and crosses along the Soldiers & Sailors Grove at the Capitol adorned with helmets, safety vests, and the names of workers killed.PennDOT says it has lost 90 staffers on Pennsylvania roadways since 1970. The PA Turnpike has lost 45 since 1940.In 2023 alone, there were more than 1,200 work zone crashes and 22 fatalities, with the majority of those killed being motorists who died in those instances.Chris Baynham, PennDOT’s assistant county manager for Dauphin County, said he was sideswiped years ago and is grateful he wasn’t killed.”I’m lucky enough to tell about it. But I just want my guys and the public to go home and see their family and see another day,” he said.In order to improve safety, PennDOT and the PA Turnpike Commission have started incorporating speed cameras in work zones to issue tickets to those who illegally speed through areas with reduced speed limits because of ongoing construction or maintenance.Zachary Seidel, an equipment operator with the PA Turnpike, said people need to understand that the men and women in work zones are people just like them who want to go home to see their families at the end of the day.”People out on the roads should think about if that was their family members or significant others out on the road and how they would want them to be safe,” he said.
As part of National Work Zone Awareness Week, staffers and leaders with PennDOT and the Pennsylvania Turnpike on Monday urged motorists to drive more carefully and attentively in and around work zones around the Commonwealth.
At a news conference outside the statehouse, PennDOT secretary Mike Carroll urged drivers to be vigilant around work zones as they approach them and to avoid distractions like cellphone use.
“Please make the safe choice. I know everyone is in a hurry, I know everyone wants to get where they’re going quickly, but please slow down in work zones,” he said.
As part of an effort to memorialize those killed in work zones, PennDOT and the PA Turnpike Commission have placed cones and crosses along the Soldiers & Sailors Grove at the Capitol adorned with helmets, safety vests, and the names of workers killed.
PennDOT says it has lost 90 staffers on Pennsylvania roadways since 1970. The PA Turnpike has lost 45 since 1940.
In 2023 alone, there were more than 1,200 work zone crashes and 22 fatalities, with the majority of those killed being motorists who died in those instances.
Chris Baynham, PennDOT’s assistant county manager for Dauphin County, said he was sideswiped years ago and is grateful he wasn’t killed.
“I’m lucky enough to tell about it. But I just want my guys and the public to go home and see their family and see another day,” he said.
In order to improve safety, PennDOT and the PA Turnpike Commission have started incorporating speed cameras in work zones to issue tickets to those who illegally speed through areas with reduced speed limits because of ongoing construction or maintenance.
Zachary Seidel, an equipment operator with the PA Turnpike, said people need to understand that the men and women in work zones are people just like them who want to go home to see their families at the end of the day.
“People out on the roads should think about if that was their family members or significant others out on the road and how they would want them to be safe,” he said.
