When WMOK spoke with Massac County Sheriff Chad Kaylor he spoke about motor safety in construction zones. Sheriff Chad Kaylor stated that many of the accidents occurring in the construction zone on I-24 are due to inattentive drivers. He said it seems like every which way you turn tin Massac County there is an orange cone or orange barrel, a machine cutting up the road, traffic jams, etc.
Sheriff Kaylor told WMOK that while there are many factors causing traffic jams, accidents, and this includes the kind of traffic going through the construction zone at that time. He stated while there is normal backup in the construction area, it only takes one driver to change that into a dangerous situation. The problem is that several motorists are not paying attention to their surroundings and end up rear ending the driver that is stopped in the last spot (the vehicle in front of the other driver). In the case of a semi tractor trailer that is loaded down and traveling 60 to 70 miles an hour and if it never hits his brakes, that vehicle then basically becomes a missile on wheels.
Sheriff Chad Kaylor advised motorists to pay attention and use extreme caution while traveling through any construction areas. He said if your vehicle is stopped and you are the last car stopped, make sure to check your rearview mirror to see what is transpiring behind you and be prepared to make a split second decision if necessary. Kaylor told WMOK that it’s more like a defensive driving then offensive driving. With all of the distractions available to drivers such as cell phones, gps, other electronic devices, you should pay attention to what the other driver is doing. In many cases with the recent accidents that have happened in the I-24 construction zone have been due to a driver not paying attention and then subsequently rear ending the vehicle directly in front of them.
There are several things you can do prior to driving through any construction area, to assist you and will help get you to where you want to go in a timely and safe manner. One thing that you can do is download a traffic app on your cell phone. Then check traffic apps such as Google maps, Waze App to see how the traffic is flowing. The Waze app is another application used by drivers, if the motorists driving in your area are on this app, it can be very informative and if there is not many people in your area using this traffic app, it becomes less accurate and the Google Maps traffic app is ususally a great indication on the traffic flow where ever you are, There are several downloadable traffic apps you can get on your electronic devices to help make your trip more enjoyable.
Motorists should reduce speed, follow the signed detour route, be alert for equipment and workers and USE EXTREME CAUTION while traveling through all work zones. To avoid any delays motorists should seek an alternate route when possible.
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