Slow down and pay attention to the road if you plan on traveling on U.S. Highway 280 East sometime soon. Construction workers are laboring on River Bridge, traffic is down to one lane on each side and the posted speed limit has dropped to 45 mph.
In Tuesday’s edition of The Outlook, we wrote about Alexander City police pulling over speeding vehicles near River Bridge on 280.
Alexander City police chief Jay Turner said officers issued 22 tickets for speeding between March 20 and Monday morning. Turner also said the police department wasn’t out there during the weekend; so about 5 1/2 tickets were issued for four days. That’s a lot of citations for one area in such a short time span.
When it comes to construction work on the road, always slow down. The construction workers are defenseless and will be seriously hurt if hit by a vehicle going 45 mph. Imagine being hit at 65 mph.
“These people who are working — if it’s utility, if it’s road crews — they’re trying to do a job,” Turner said. “The last thing they need to worry about is people paying attention and speeders.”
While slowing down may seem not important, drivers should lower their rate of speed. We urge our readers to use caution in the area because people’s lives can be at risk.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 17 workers were killed in Alabama from injuries at roadwork zones between 2011-2015.
Turner said a lot of the speeding vehicles the police department pulled over was due to distracted driving. It cannot be emphasized enough never look at your phone and drive.
Please obey the speeding laws whenever construction is on the road. Whatever you’re driving to can wait; it’s worth spending a few more minutes going slower in the car if everyone is safe.