National Work Zone Awareness Week 2024

National Work Zone Awareness Week has begun. The goal is to highlight the dangers highway workers face every day in work.

The state Department of Transportation had 214 instances of vehicles intruding into work zones, according to the state.

There were nearly 200 crashes in Thruway work zones, leading to 37 injuries, the state said.

The majority of crashes were caused by either distracted driving, following too closely, unsafe lane changes or disregarding traffic warning signs, according to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office.

If you don’t follow the rules in work zones, you can be fined $50 for the first violation, $75 for the second and $100 for third and subsequent violations within 18 months of the first violation.

Unpaid fines may result in a vehicle registration hold, where drivers will not be able to renew their registrations without first paying their fines.