Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) officials said the agency has witnessed a rise in work zone crashes despite decreased traffic volumes.
The agency noted 39 instances in which truck/trailer-mounted attenuators (TMA) have been struck in work zones statewide this year – as compared to 19 hits in the same time frame last year.
Attenuators are described as apparatus equipped with crushable shock absorbers to absorb momentum and reduce the force of the impact.
“We’ve had a 100 percent increase in TMA hits at a time when traffic on Missouri roads has decreased by nearly 50 percent for much of the year,” MoDOT Director Patrick K. McKenna said. “That’s not only an overwhelming figure, it’s also completely avoidable with appropriate driver attention.”
Authorities said since 2012, the state Slow Down and Move Over law requires motorists to slow down and change lanes when approaching MoDOT vehicles or law enforcement and emergency vehicles with lights flashing, adding failure to do so is a Class A misdemeanor and can result in fines and/or imprisonment.
“Distracted driving has been recognized as a major factor in work zone crashes,” Nicole Hood, state highway safety and traffic engineer, said. “Since 2014, cell phone related crashes in MO have increased by 35 percent. Using a cellphone in a car is potentially one of the most dangerous actions you can take while driving.”
Last year, Gov. Mike Parson signed Lyndon’s Law, which is named for Lyndon Ebker -a 30-year employee of MoDOT struck and killed in a Franklin County work zone by a distracted driver in 2016.
The measure revokes the driver’s license of anyone who hits a highway or utility worker in a work zone or an emergency responder in an emergency zone.