Avoiding Negligence in Construction Zones
Search “construction worker hit by car” or some derivation thereof on any search engine and you will literally find hundreds of articles discussing incidents where construction workers who were working on roadside jobs were struck by vehicles and suffered serious injury or death. The human body is an amazing organism, but it is no match for a moving vehicle, whether it is a semi or a Smart Car. Tennessee recognizes that proper road maintenance necessitates that people such as construction workers, utility company employees, and litter crews will have to work on or along the road. Accordingly, the duty to drive as a reasonable person would dictates that drivers react appropriately where they know workers will be working on or near the road.
Very rarely does any work take place along the road without it being made clear to drivers in the area that such work is taking place nearby. Construction zones are often delineated by orange and white barrels and signs that declare that men are working in the area. Utility crews are usually likewise noted by barrels or orange cones and signs warning the driver that utility work is being conducted. Litter crews generally do not use barrels, but may use cones, trucks with flashing lights, and, in the case of certain litter crews, fashionable vests that indicate why a particular individual is assisting the road maintenance effort on that particular day. Such efforts are often conspicuous, and rarely will a defendant in a Knoxville personal injury suit be able to claim that he or she was unaware of work being done in the area where the accident occurred.
In order to avoid driving negligently in a roadside or roadway work zone, drivers must behave as a reasonably prudent driver would while passing through those zones. This would obviously include keeping a proper lookout for persons or vehicles that may suddenly enter the roadway, obeying the recommended speed limit for the area (often these areas will have reduced speed limits posted), and keeping a lookout for any other obstacles in the road that may have been caused by the work being done. Failure to act in a reasonably prudent manner could result in the driver being held liable for a substantial amount of damages in a personal injury lawsuit since accidents in such areas often result in permanent injury or death.
