P

Pavement-Edge Drop Offs

Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2009 9:32 am
by brian
Dec 22, 2009, New York Times article by Mike McIntire
"Efforts Lag at Making Highway Work Zones Safer"
NOTE: The article reads like it was co-authored by lawyers preparing suit against construction companies and others. The NY Times article cites some instances of fatal accidents caused by pavement-edge drop offs and other hazard in construction work zones. The article then goes on to state:
  • "Behind this human toll is a litany of mundane hazards: concrete barriers in the wrong position, obsolete lane markings left in place, warning signs never deployed. Yet there are virtually no laws or regulations mandating safety measures in work zones. There are standards, but they are loosely enforced and differ from state to state. As a result, there are few penalties levied against contractors when, because of ignorance, carelessness or a desire to save money, guidelines are violated. Problem contractors often just keep on getting hired, and dangerous practices remain uncorrected, sometimes for years. Ultimately, the hazards persist through a kind of collective indifference, a presumption that, given the crush of traffic and the vagaries of driver behavior, accidents happen."
Sounds more like an opening argument in a litigation suit rather than objective reporting!
And the article then goes on
  • "Transportation officials are responding pretty much as they always have: by focusing primarily on drivers. States have raised fines for speeding in work zones, cracked down on drunken or distracted drivers and stiffened penalties for killing or injuring highway workers, even though roughly 85 percent of those killed in work zones are motorists. In an interview, the federal highway administrator, Victor M. Mendez, endorsed that emphasis. Distracted or impaired driving and speeding, he said, are the major known factors in work-zone accidents. For its part, the road-building industry insists that it is doing everything possible to prevent crashes."
See the Full Story

Re: Pavement-Edge Drop Offs

Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2012 3:57 pm
by brian
Sept 2012: Added additional thread Pavement Shoulder Dropoffs