Are increased fines reducing work zone fatalities?

The magazine Car and Driver noted a large increase in campaigns urging drivers to slow down in work zones in its November 2005 issue. And it noted that the Federal Highway Administration (FHA) funded many of these billboards, TV commercials, and other ads directly or indirectly. This is true, and in fact several government agencies, especially at the federal level, are tying access to funding for road repair, maintenance, and construction to various safety measures, including awareness campaigns. Most states couple awareness campaigns with doubled or increased fines for speeding.

What is also true is that this approach does not seem to be working. In 2003, New Jersey started its “Safe Corridors” program, doubling fines in a number of highway sections that tend to have more accidents. The result was less than overwhelming – in two of three sections the number of accidents actually went up. “Accident prevention doesn't include raising fines,” said Anthony Parenti, president of the New Jersey Traffic Safety Officers Association. “That's never proved to be a deterrent. Fixing the problem, that's a deterrent. Doubling fines doesn't accomplish anything.”

In Texas, the problem is the same: in 1998 the state passed legislation to double fines in work zones where construction workers are present, and has still seen a steady increase in the average number of work zone fatalities. But the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) took it one step further, and tried to determine why the program was not working.

In 2000, it studied ten work zone sites and found that in seven of them, about two-thirds of motorists exceeded the posted speed limit. After the fine increase, the average speed decreased by 4 mph (the biggest drop) in two of the studied sites, but actually increased by up to 7 mph in others. The biggest reason the increased fines were not slowing down drivers, the investigators found, was that the new law was not strictly enforced.

Based on the results of the study, the TTI recommended that the state:

Work zone safety, for the construction worker and the motorist passing through, needs to be a high priority to reduce the number of fatalities to both. Increasing fines coupled with enforcement of those fines is one method, but there needs to be others such as properly training flaggers, developing and enforcing safe construction procedures, and other methods of keeping the public and employees safe.

If you have been injured while traveling through or near a work zone, or if you have been injured as a worker in a construction zone, contact a Jim S. Adler & Associates personal injury lawyer. We have extensive knowledge in road works and traffic law, and we can help advise you of your rights. You may be eligible for compensation from any number of responsible parties, but without expert legal advice you may not be able to get the full compensation you deserve. Call Jim S. Adler & Associates directly, or submit your case for a free review by clicking the link on this page.

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