Maryland Injury Attorney Blog
We’ve all driven past road crews on the sides of our Maryland highways — where construction, repairs, and other road work happens seemingly within feet of speeding motor vehicles. It takes a special kind of man or woman to do this hard manual labor for hours, in hot and cold weather, amid the noise and rush of oncoming traffic.
Tragically, on March 22, 2023, six road workers died when a car going more than 100 mph crashed into a work zone on I-695 in Baltimore County. This preventable fatal car accident resulted in multiple felony negligent manslaughter charges for the two drivers involved, and the call for legislation to better protect construction workers on our Maryland streets and highways.
The Assistant Governor’s office formed a work zone safety group in the wake of the fatal crash, leading to the Maryland Road Worker Protection Act being signed into law in April 2024. In January 2025, a tiered penalty system goes into effect for drivers who speed in work zones.
According to Zero Deaths Maryland, Highway Safety Office,
“Effective June 1, 2024 fines will increase from $40 to $80. An updated schedule of fines will take effect in January 2025, with a sliding scale, from $60 to $500, corresponding to how far over the speed limit the driver was recorded at the time of their recorded offense. If workers were present at the time of the offense, the citation’s fine will double.”
The system includes more speed cameras in work zones and requires more lighting to help drivers see when workers are present.
The safety of road workers and the police details who protect them involves all Maryland drivers acting responsibly. If you see a construction crew on the side of the highway, please slow down. Where the road is our passage way to get where we’re going … it’s the work zone for those on the job, facing the elements and risks involved, every day.
Have a safe and happy holiday season!
Sources:
These Maryland laws go into effect January 2025
CBS News Dec. 24, 2024
Work Zone Safety Legislation
Zero Deaths Maryland Collected online Dec. 24.2024
Driver sentenced to 18 months in I-695 crash that killed six construction workers
CBS Baltimore March 28, 2024