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Give Construction Workers a Break

At 81 mph in a car, there isn’t much a driver can do if something goes wrong in front of him, other than bracing for impact. If that something wrong happens to be a human being in front of the speeding vehicle, the consequences can be fatal.

Speeding in highway construction zones continues to be a severe safety concern, say Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers. Many motorists – not just a few scofflaws, but lots of them – disregard signs pleading with them to slow down in areas where repairs or improvements are being made to roads and bridges.

In one recent case, a driver flew through a 55 mph construction site on Interstate 70 near St. Clairsville at 81 mph. Fortunately, a Highway Patrol trooper monitoring the area pulled the driver over.

He will be learning an expensive lesson. Fines for speeding are doubled in construction zones where work is in progress in the Buckeye State.

Fines and the possibility of losing one’s driver’s license ought to be secondary considerations, of course. The safety of men and women laboring on roads should be enough to prompt thoughtful motorists to lift their right feet upon entering construction zones. Where that is not enough, troopers and judges should come down hard on the offenders.

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