Summer is here, and your family may soon be heading out of state for a vacation. When you do, don’t let road construction ruin your road trip.
In past five years, more than 4,000 people have died in road-work zone crashes. Interestingly, drivers are more frequently killed in work zone accidents than motorists. not surprisingly, the most common accident in road work areas are rear-end crashes. 30% of all work zone crashes involve large trucks.
So, do you know how to stay safe in a road construction zone?
Here are five safety tips to avoid an accident:
- Slow down and stay alert. When you see the diamond-shaped orange road signs, know that road lane closures are up ahead, and road construction workers may be directing traffic. Pay close attention to all the signs and follow posted speed limits. You can be fined for not following a road worker’s directions or going too fast.
- Don’t tailgate. Leave two seconds of braking distance between you and the car in front of you. This way, you’ll have time to react to sudden lane changes or traffic jams.
- Make sure you’ve left the road construction zone before speeding up. Sometimes workers who are patching roads or painting have moved from one spot to another so you may not see them when first entering a road construction zone.
- Plan ahead. Most state highway agencies offer updates on major road construction. It never hurts to check their website, follow them on Facebook or check out their Twitter updates so you can plan an alternate route if needed.
- Be patient. Try to stay calm and not get too upset by unexpected delays. The road construction workers are doing their jobs to benefit everyone and to make the roads safer for us all.
By following these tips, you can avoid a construction zone accident, possibly damaging your car by hitting an unexpected road barrier, or worse, injuring yourself, your passengers or someone else in a crash.
