Better use of warning signs promotes safety
Roadway worker deaths and injuries are tragic for all involved. One program that could help avert these mishaps is improved use of warning signage for lane closures, utility work, flagmen ahead and the like.
Interstate highways handle this matter well. Most state and local highways and streets in North Carolina, however, appear to have loosely enforced requirements for utility companies, construction crews and state and city work crews for placement of warning signs to alert motorists to an impending lane change or closure.
Warning sign placements range from 10 feet from a work truck to 200 feet or more. Obviously, improperly placed signage is unsafe for roadway workers. It is also hazardous for motorists. Activating a direction light lever is difficult, if not impossible, for drivers multi-tasking with cell phones, PDAs, drinks, snacks, grooming aids and audiovisual systems.
Workers on the blind side of a curve or beyond the crest of a hill present especially dangerous situations. Properly placed warning signs are imperative in these cases. Blind spots from curves and hills can also make compliance with the new "move over" law disastrous for motorists trying to quickly change lanes or decelerate.
Alan J. Greco
Greensboro