New York state’s fiscal year 2021 executive budget includes a new measure to implement the Slow Down and Look Out for Highway Workers and Pedestrians Act of 2020 (SLOW Act).
The act imposes harsher criminal penalties for violent actions against highway workers. It also creates a crime called “menacing a highway worker,” which is defined as intentionally placing or attempting to place a highway worker at risk of death or physical injury.
The act also creates the crime of “intrusion into an active work zone,” defined as a driver entering an active work zone without being directed by a traffic control device or a person in charge of traffic control.
“Highway workers have a tough job, often having to work in rough weather and under tough circumstances keep[ing] our roads and bridges in good repair, and we need to do everything in our power to keep them safe in the field,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.
In the past five years, there have been more than 900 intrusions and incidents of violence in work zones involving highway workers, according to the New York State Department of Transportation.
The act also increases safety measures for pedestrians and cyclists by increasing fines for drivers who cause injury to pedestrians or cyclists.