According to Philadelphia personal injury attorney, Edith Pearce, despite advances in safety in automobiles and trucks, truck accidents continue to be a problem on Philadelphia and Pennsylvania roadways causing serious and sometimes fatal injuries. A Pennsylvania couple from Finleyville was killed Sunday while driving through Utah. Russell and Emelda Welsh, both in their 60s, died at the scene when a tractor-trailer driver lost control of his rig in a construction zone on I-15 near Pintura, Utah. Reportedly traveling at a high speed, the truck driver swerved into oncoming traffic lanes, crashing into the Welsh’s Kia SUV head-on. Just two hours earlier, a Utah woman had been critically injured at the same construction zone. In that accident, the woman lost control of her vehicle after hitting a bump in the road and crashed into nearby construction equipment, injuring construction workers. A sign saying “Bump ahead” was posted immediately ahead of where both vehicles lost control Utah police are investigating.
According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), highway work zone accidents killed 1,149 roadway workers in 2009, representing 9% of all deaths in the construction industries. Between 1995 and 2002, the latest figures available, 44 workers were killed at Pennsylvania road construction sites. And those figures do not include the thousands of motorists and truckers who die or are seriously injured every year in motor vehicle accidents that occur in roadway construction zones.
The increase in construction zone accidents has caused Pennsylvania and most other states to double traffic fines in construction zones as a deterrent to speeding and unsafe driving practices. Despite such precautions, the proximity of speeding cars to construction vehicles and workers creates the potential for dangerous accidents. Uneven road beds, poorly graded berm lanes, confusing markings, unmarked hazards and the distraction of construction activity can catch drivers unawares, resulting in tragedy as it did for a Pennsylvania couple in Utah this week.
Experienced Philadelphia personal injury attorneys can assist both injured construction workers and motorists who are involved in serious personal injury accidents in Pennsylvania construction zones. Thepearcelawfirm.com is always here to assist you!