The Danger of Construction Zones

Photo courtesy of ThinkLafayette.com

We’ve seen our share of construction zones here in Grapevine. For the last couple of years, the road right outside our front door was under construction. It made getting to and from work a nightmare. Finally, all the work zones have slowly gone away and the commute is getting back to normal. For some people it’s even quicker. They’ve put in so many new features and roads, it looks completely different than it did before the start of the DFW Connector project. I, for one, am glad the roads are free and clear, but there’s also another group of people who are ever happier, the construction workers themselves. Not only do they have to work long, hard hours in the freezing cold or the brutal heat, they have to deal with drivers. I’ve driven by work sites and there are workers within a few feet of a car going 50-60 miles an hour. If that’s not unnerving, then I don’t know what is. The road construction crews work as hard, if not harder than any profession out there, and they deserve our attention when we are passing through a work zone. All you have to do is take your eyes off of the road for a split-second and a disaster could happen. In 2012, there were over sixteen thousand accidents that happen in a work zone, of those, there were 134 fatalities. That’s a number that scares me and it should scare you as well.

Not only is is a dangerous place to drive, it’s also a potentially costly one. In the state of Texas, your fine doubles if you are caught breaking the law in a construction zone. When they say “Slow Down”, they mean it. Do us all a favor when you’re out driving, pay attention to the work zones. They’re trying to get the job done so we can get to the places we go quicker and more efficiently. I recommend reading the TxDot report on driver safety and work zone awareness for more stunning statistics and facts.