When a motorist is driving down I-95, orange highway poles on the interstate’s express lane are a common sight. Nevertheless, some drivers ignore these poles and illegally enter the express lanes, causing accidents. For this reason, the Florida Department of Transportation has taken action to try to reduce the number of accidents on I-95.
Approximately 32,000 new orange highway poles stretch the express lanes of Interstate 95, double the number that was installed in 2016. The FDOT estimates that, due to the new poles, the number of car accidents in the express lane of I-95 has gone down around 33 percent over the last six months. Moreover, the number of citations issued to drivers who run over the poles in order to enter or exit the express lanes on I-95 has gone down over 85 percent.
Before the new poles were installed, motorists would simply run over the old poles dividing the express lanes from the main lanes of I-95. The old poles were flexible and would simply spring back if an automobile ran them over. Running over the orange poles is against the law and is not safe, but people still did it. This caused much damage to the old poles, and the FDOT had to replace around 4,000 monthly.
The new poles are able to withstand as many as 200 hits. In addition to increasing how many poles are on I-95, the express lane driving issue has received much publication by the FDOT. The FDOT is also constructing five zones that are 1,500 feet long for motorists to use if they have an emergency and need to stop. These zones will also help police pull over drivers to issue citations, as well as get broken automobiles off the road. Their goal is to lower the number of car accidents on I-95.
Any efforts made by the state to reduce car accidents will also reduce the number of people injured or killed in such accidents. When it comes to car accidents, it is the responsibility of all drivers to obey traffic signals, lane changes, and orange markers. The failure to do so could lead to a crash, causing other innocent drivers to suffer damages. When this happens, victims of these car accidents may want to determine if they can take legal action against the responsible party.
