Move over law revamped
Heavy trucks and tractortrailers passing by in both directions on Interstate 78 in Greenwich Township Tuesday provided the ideal backdrop for transportation and law enforcement officials to remind motorists to drive safely in construction zones.
“Highway safety awareness week is a good reminder to motorists that the most important thing about driving is safety for motorists and safety in work zones,” Sean A. Brown, PennDOT safety spokesman, said, welcoming the speakers and spectators to a press conference during National Work Zone Awareness Week.
As the speakers advocated for safe driving, construction crews with H&K Group, based in Skippack Township, Montgomery County, are in the midst of a $270 million upgrade of a 10-mile stretch of the highway from exit 35 in Greenwich Township to the Lehigh County line.
The safe driving message was delivered on the first day of the enforcement of the Move Over law, which requires motorists to move over to the next lane at an emergency response area or slow to at least 20 mph less than the posted speed limit to avoid hitting police, fire and ambulance crews, road and utility workers, and tow truck drivers.
“Today is the day that we have the start of the new Move Over law,” state police Trooper David C. Beohm, spokesman for Readingbased Troop L, said at the press conference along Deer Run Road in Greenwich Township. “Be cognizant of the weather, the speeds and what is going on so that you have time to stop. Pay attention to what is going on rather than what is going on in your mind, in your head, or on your phone. Pay attention to what is going on because the last thing we want to have to do is come out to an accident here.”
Gov. Tom Wolf signed the new law on Oct. 29 in the wake of an increase of fatal accidents at emergency response scenes, including the July 21 death of a towtruck driver on Interstate 78 in Bethel Township. Tyler A. Laudenslager, 29, of Halifax, Dauphin County, was killed while assisting a disabled vehicle.
Tara DeStefano, community traffic project coordinator for the Pottsvillebased Highway Safety Network, said there were 1,412 work zone traffic accidents in 2020, including 15 fatalities.
Another safety measure started in March 2020, automated ticketing for speeding in PennDOT construction zones, produced positive results, DeStefano said.
An 8.3-mile stretch of I-78 from Hamburg to Lenhartsville was one of the highways where PennDOT began the ticketing in the work zones program.
DeStefano reported that overall crashes in work zones were down 19% in 2020, according to PennDOT’s 2021 annual report.
She asked the traveling public to do their part to drive safely in work zones by following the speed limits, turning on headlights at night, not tailgating, avoiding distractions, buckling up and being patient.
Brandon Schultz, project engineer with H&K Group, said the construction workers are always focused on their surroundings in high traffic areas.
He urged the motorists to follow the speed limit of 50 mph on I-78.
“If you follow the speed limit, it is a safe place to drive,” he said.
Robert Dolan, a representative of the Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association, said this year has brought new challenges with fewer people driving during the pandemic. Dolan said the motorists need to refocus back to the driving mode now that more people are driving again.
“Many of us were not driving as much as we used to,” he said. “We are out there with large tractor-trailers. We have a lot of blind spots, but we give you a lot of blind spots on the road, particularly in these work zones.”
Dolan asked motorists to stay back when driving behind a tractor trailer.
“Stay back and be safe, Dolan said.