Posted: | April 15, 2021 10:29 AM |
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From: | Senator Elder A. Vogel, Jr. |
To: | All Senate members |
Subject: | Enhancing Penalties for Offenses in Active Work Zones |
Construction zone flaggers, in an effort to provide workers with a safe environment and prevent drivers from colliding with oncoming traffic from the other direction, notify drivers when it is safe to proceed through an active work zone. Far too many drivers choose to ignore flaggers if they are not on a highway or interstate, which can lead to serious injuries or deaths that were entirely preventable. Violators disregarding flaggers and speeding through work zones may be more effectively held accountable with the addition of an effort to proactively address violations rather than in retrospect or after significant harm is done. The language includes a requirement of law enforcement to investigate infractions corroborated by (1) no less than two witnesses OR (2) body, dash, or roadside cameras. My proposed penalties for non-contact of a vehicle or construction employee are as follows:
While primarily a preventative effort, this legislation also increases penalties for striking a worker or construction vehicle/equipment as follows:
Allocations of revenue from the fines are as follows:
I invite you to join me in co-sponsoring this legislation increasing protection for our work zone employees here in the Commonwealth. |
Introduced as SB614