The week of August 13 th, New York DOT launched a campaign called, “Operation Hard Hat” and it was a success! Motorists surely obey active work zones a lot more when Troopers are visible but what about when they are not around? State Troopers dressed up as crew workers in hopes crack down on work zone violations and succeed in issuing 112 tickets over a three-day period.

These tickets included violations for:

• Speeding
• The use of mobile devices
• Failure to obey flaggers

New York State Department of Transportation Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez said, “The success of Operation Hard Hat is imperative - it protects our transportation workers and raises awareness to the serious issue of work zone safety. I’d like to thank the dedicated New York State Troopers who took the time last week to patrol our work zones across the Rochester and Hornell regions. This is an important partnership that we need to continue to further promote our shared mission of highway safety.”

If you live in Washington, then you may have seen an increase in State Trooper activity near emergency and work zones this past weekend. 4,700 drivers were pulled over last year because drivers would not move over or slow down. The law was updated this year to stress that if you are unable to move over, slow down! The Move Over law includes patrol cars, fire trucks, tow trucks, WSDOT incident response trucks, road construction vehicles, and utility trucks that have flashing lights. Did you know that the “zone” is 200 feet before and after any of those vehicles?

Wisconsin law makers got together to discuss road safety this past Thursday, August 23 rd at the State Capitol. A public hearing was scheduled for Assembly Bill 262 . If this passes and becomes a law, you could receive a ticket for not obeying to yield workers in a highway work zone. This bill could also call for a required 30-minute lesson in drivers ed courses that discusses work zone safety. With the help of First responders testifying at this public hearing, it could include safety measures for them in the bill. The bill is currently geared towards work zones.