Safety a Major Issue for Highway Reconstruction Projects
By Randy Appleton
Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis, & Appleton - ”All We Do is Injury Law”
A large portion of the Recovery and Reinvestment Act is dedicated to infrastructure projects like revamping and reconstructing our highway system. But with this increase in highway work projects comes an increased risk of serious injury due to accidents.
Highway work zone accidents have killed roughly 4,700 people — over two a day — and injured 200,000 in the last five years, according to the New York Times. Some people have even described these work zones as death traps. This is because you have construction workers walking around on busy highways where vehicles are cruising by at high speeds. Add to that heavy-duty construction equipment, and you have a volatile combination that could lead to deadly consequences.
One of the major safety hazards associated with highway reconstruction is “pavement drop-offs.” This is basically where portions of the road that are under construction literally drop off due to a lack of pavement. Accidents involving dangerous drop-offs kill roughly 160 people and injure 11,000 each year.
Truck drivers are extremely susceptible to pavement drop-offs and general construction accidents since their range of vision is limited and it takes more time to stop and maneuver around highway construction sites. I’d imagine it’s going to be a real challenge for truckers traveling on Interstate 64 (I64), Interstate 264 (I-264), and other major highways in Virginia (VA) since they’re earmarked for construction.
I understand the need to revamp our highways, but let’s do it in a safe and responsible manner. No amount of construction and renovation is worth a truck driver, pedestrian, or highway worker’s life.
About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton is a law firm which focuses on injury and accident law and our attorneys have experience handling truck accident cases. Check out our case results to see for yourself. Our primary office in based in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA) although our lawyers hold licenses in NC, SC, WV, KY and DC. We are ready to talk to you by phone right now—we provide free initial confidential injury case consultations, so call us toll free at 1-800-752-0042. Our injury attorneys also host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube . Furthermore, our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard and Norfolk Injuryboard as a pro bono public information service.
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December 25, 2009
Tags: accident, accidents, Appleton, attorney, construction, highway, infrastructure, injury, pedestrian, truck, work zone Posted in: Virginia (VA) Trucking Injury/Accidents Topics
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