Maneuvering through the construction zone
Marion County Record reporter Susan Cooper plans to cover the upcoming trials of the three tractor-trailer drivers who, between them, killed nine people in a month's time on U.S.-50 in 2004.
The wrecks occurred when the drivers failed to observe cautionary signs for major highway repairs around Peabody in May and June of that year. At highway speeds the trucks slammed into cars parked in line awaiting their turn to travel around construction workers. Two of the wrecks east of Peabody occurred within 50 yards and 24 hours of one another.
I have no idea how the trials will go. There will be plenty of blame to go around, I'm sure. From the drivers, for inattentive driving, to the construction company for not alerting them soon enough, to the state for not keeping highway patrol officers in the area, there will be finger pointing aplenty.
I took a trip this past week to Illinois to take care of some family issues. It is a 10-hour drive one way and a lot of that "ribbon of highway" had been invaded by the famous good weather highway creature, the Orange and White Barrel. In Kansas, Iowa, and Illinois, highway construction is alive and well. The familiar "Give 'em a Brake" and "Reduced Speed Ahead" signs were present everywhere.
But drivers pretty much did as they pleased through all the construction zones. There were no law enforcement vehicles to be seen. People pushed the envelope about as much as they dared, nudging the speedometer and tailgating the occasional driver who obeyed the signs.
Except in Illinois.
Illinois is probably not known for courteous or patient drivers, at least in the northern sphere around Chicago. But Illinois drivers in construction zones (at least those in front of me) seemed more inclined to keep the speed at least within shouting distance of the posted limit. They were quick to break away and accelerate when they exited construction areas, but were just as quick to slow to the required speed as they entered them. Want to know why?
My guess is it's the signs the state posts at the beginning of each area of repair or upgrade. Big signs. Signs you won't miss even if you are a tad sleepy or suffering from highway hypnosis. The first one is a "Give 'em a Brake" sign just like those in the other states. But beneath those signs in Illinois is not the additional wording about fines doubling in work zones. Nah, the Illinois folks are known for being blunt. Their sign just flat-out tells you "Minimum fine $375". Yikes! And that is just the minimum. As in, the smallest amount. As in, it could be a whole lot more.
If that isn't enough to make you sit up and take notice, there is another sign posted shortly thereafter (and then several more times down the road) that reads, "Hit a highway worker, $10,000 fine — 14 years in prison". Again this is not a small sign. It is not a sign that makes you wonder if the department of transportation might be talking to you! It is big and it is blunt. Whoa, slow down, Bubba.
And so they do. I have no idea what the incidence of traffic fatalities might be in Illinois work zones, but I was near the end of my journey when I entered them. I was tired and fidgety, a little zoned out and ready to be done driving. But I sure noticed the signs. And I sure checked my speedometer. And I sure obeyed.
Maybe the state of Kansas could try a little of that. Too late by a couple of years for the victims in the work zones on U.S.-50, but maybe just in time for someone else's family. I wouldn't object to the legislature putting more teeth into penalties for accidents like the three near here in 2004. (Right now each of those deaths counts only as a misdemeanor.) And I wouldn't object to my tax dollars paying for road signs like those in Illinois
Might be a project worth taking on. Might be indeed.
— SUSAN MARSHALL
