Maryland lawmakers working to keep roadways safe for construction workers

MARYLAND – Maryland lawmakers are working hard to protect the men and women who wear the green construction vests, to ensure after a long day of work on the roads, they can return to their families, safely.

AAA spokesperson, Regina Ali, said there are many factors that play into deadly collisions in work zones, with speeding being one of the most prevalent.

“People are speeding through these work zones with little regard for public safety, little regard for the work safety,” Ali said. “It’s important to note also, that while the workers are in danger, a lot of the motorists are actually the ones who are killed while driving.”

Increasing citation fees, adding more cameras to work zones and changing the ways that those cameras are surveilled are the new road regulations of House Bill 513.

During her testimony, Lieutenant Governor, Aruna Miller, pointed to facts to sway lawmakers.

“Studies have shown that work zones with multiple speed cameras throughout a work zone are more effective in reducing speeds and crashes, than work zones with a single camera that only slows the driver at a single point in time,” lieutenant governor Miller said.

With experience on the roads himself, Maryland State Police, Lieutenant David Ryan, said many of the collisions that occur in work zones can be prevented if education is enforced.

“These collisions, many of them occurring in work zones, are related to three factors: speeding, distracted driving and impairment,” Lieutenant Ryan said. “Enforcement, combined with education, often leads to a reduction in violation and provides for safer Maryland roadways.”

Likewise, Mike Sakata, representing families who have been impacted by work zone collisions, said the time is now to stop treating roadway workers as disposable state employees, because they also have families they want to make it home to.

“It’s a clearing call that we can no longer ignore that workers are not mere statistics,” Sakata said. “They’re fathers, sons, mothers, and daughters, some of whom are with us today, whose lives are invaluable. Their safety is non-negotiable.”