Construction Zone Accidents

Hundreds of fatalities in motor vehicle crashes every year occur in construction zones, often because drivers do not exercise the proper standard of care when driving through work zones. With so many factors at play in a construction zone accident, it is important if you are injured to contact an experienced personal injury attorney who can investigate the accident and identify the parties responsible for causing the accident by their negligence, recklessness or other misconduct.

Below are some of the main reasons extra care should be taken in construction zones:

Lanes are frequently narrowed through the use of anything from flimsy plastic pylons to sand or water-filled barrels and concrete barriers. This means there is less room to maneuver. There may be less shoulder than usual or no shoulder at all. In fact, traffic may actually be diverted onto the shoulder when work is occurring in the lanes.

Lane markings may be obliterated or covered with debris, making it more difficult to differentiate between lanes.

Dump trucks, bulldozers and other heavy equipment may be constantly moving in and out of the construction zone, obstructing the view ahead and often moving at a deceptively slow speed when first encountered

Workers in the roadway directing traffic can pose a danger to the negligent driver who does not notice the worker at first and then overreacts

Debris in the road may cause a vehicle to swerve suddenly into another lane, even into oncoming traffic or off the road. Sand and other particles blown onto the roadway, while not normally a hazard to heavier vehicles, can pose a real danger to motorcycles, whose handling can be extremely sensitive to sudden changes in the road surface.

New York City Construction Accidents Attorney

Despite all these dangers, many drivers continue to speed through construction zones, ignoring the speed limits which are posted lower than the surrounding areas. While construction zones on the highway may seem like particularly perilous places for the construction worker, most injury victims are in fact the occupants of vehicles involved in work zone crashes.

Leandros Vrionedes is a New York City personal injury attorney who represents people injured in automobile accidents as well as construction site accidents and other instances where the negligence or wrongful conduct of another has resulted in personal injury or wrongful death. If you or a family member has been injured in a collision in a construction zone or elsewhere, contact Leandros A. Vrionedes, P.C. for a free consultation.