When you’re driving, encountering a road work zone can mean a delay in your schedule and some frustration. Work zones usually involve barriers and can even require you to come to a full stop. However, work zones don’t exist as an inconvenience for you. The workers who are in these areas are making the roads safer.

Sadly, statistics show that an average of three a people a day are killed in work zone accidents in this country. In 2011, Nevada alone saw nearly 700 collisions in construction and maintenance work zones. In many cases, simply following a few common-sense work zone driving safety tips can help you drastically reduce the risk of pedestrian involved car accidents in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Work Zone Driving Safety

The Nevada Department of Transportation (DOT) offers a few work zone driving tips for motorists in the state:

  • Reduce distraction. Put your whole focus on the road and drive defensively, thinking a few moves ahead.
  • Slow down. There may be pedestrians and workers walking around the work zone as well as other drivers. Slowing down ensures you have lots of time to stop if you need to.
  • Stay calm. It can be frustrating to be stuck in traffic because of construction work, but staying relaxed and focused is better for your health and reduces your risk of a collision.
  • Get ready for the unexpected. Construction areas sometimes mean the unexpected may happen. Workers may be walking near your car, a crane may move into your line of traffic, or there may be other vehicles moving through the work area. Keep alert and think ahead.
  • Avoid getting too close to cars and pedestrians. Leave plenty of distance between you and the car in front of you as well as between yourself and any workers. Work zones should have temporary barriers to protect workers, but if they don’t stay well back.
  • Obey workers and signs. Work zones generally have plenty of signs or someone directing traffic. Obey posted speed limits and directions you are given by crews. They’re there to keep you safe.

Work Zone Driving Penalties

Nevada is committed to reducing car accidents and pedestrian accidents in construction areas and protecting the workers who work in construction zones. For that reason, penalties for infractions in work zones are higher. For example, speeding in work zones results in double the speeding fines. Under Nevada Revised Statute 484.3667, speeding in marked maintenance zones or construction work zones where workers are occupied can carry a penalty of up to $1000.

Have you been injured while driving through a road work or construction work zone in Nevada? Contact G. Dallas Horton & Associates for a consultation. The legal team at our law firm has more than 70 years of combined experience, and we have worked to resolve more than 7,000 cases. With our caring, multilingual staff, we can offer legal advice and support if you have been injured.