Don’t be a Crash Dummy During Idaho Construction Season

A pair of state troopers told me Idaho has two seasons.  Winter and construction!  The latter of which will soon be starting.  What do most people do when they come upon a construction zone?  Slow down and follow directions and, yet.  Every year people die needlessly.  Sometimes the people who are working on the project.  Often it’s law enforcement directing traffic.  Or the driver who ignored the warnings.

A few weeks ago, there was an inspection of the Perrine Bridge in Twin Falls.  Southbound traffic narrowed to one lane on the left side.  Cones were set up well beyond the bridge and well back into Jerome County.  I was coming home from a trip and was in the queue when a chopped pickup truck sped by on my right-hand side.  He was on the other side of the cones.  Some people say you can’t fix stupid but often a ticket will.

There's Zero Tolerance for Speeding

Remember, fines are greatly increased if you’re stopped speeding in a construction zone.  If you plow into some of the workers you’ll find things can get even worse.

There are times when we chalk this up to a lack of common sense, but law enforcement tells me it’s too often our modern devices.  You’re on your phone and you’re not hands-free.  You may be attempting to change the dial on the car radio. At 80 miles per hour on the Interstate, a few seconds is a considerable distance where you’re not looking at the road.

Are Seat Belts Necessary?

If you pile your car or truck into a barrier, paver, or retaining wall, you should be wearing a seatbelt.  The troopers I spoke with this week explained that almost two-thirds of the people killed in traffic accidents in Idaho over the past five years weren’t belted.  You may not get pulled over for lack of wearing the belt, but if you're stopped for another cause and not wearing it, you'll get a ticket.