This article originally appeared in WNEM. Read more here.
Michigan House bills 5767 and 5768 moved out of the transportation and infrastructure committee, advancing legislation that would require work zone safety education for new drivers.
If the bills become law, anyone applying for a new operator’s license — regular or commercial — would have to take a 30-minute work zone education class.
“Educating them at the first level possible is critical,” said Brian Sarkella, president of the Michigan chapter of the American Traffic Safety Services Association.
Personal loss drives advocacy
For Sarkella, the issue is personal. His friend and colleague, Matt Bellgowan, was killed in a work zone crash last July after a commercial vehicle rear-ended traffic while he was stopped in a backup on I-96 near Ionia.“His life was taken from someone that was driving too fast and someone that was not driving while they were paying attention,” Sarkella said.
The proposed education class would focus on driving without distractions through work zones and paying attention to signs and arrow boards.
“People don’t realize what it’s like to have a vehicle drive by you at 60, 70, 80, sometimes 90 miles an hour. It’s very scary,” Sarkella said.
Commercial drivers included after fatal crash
Sarkella said the bills initially targeted all new drivers, but after Bellgowan’s crash, advocates pushed to include commercial license holders.
“We wanted to make sure that anyone with a commercial license here in Michigan was also have that same requirement because they’re big, heavy vehicles. They take a long time to stop,” Sarkella said.
The bills now head to the full Michigan House. If they pass there, they move to the Senate.
According to MDOT, there were nearly 6,000 crashes last year in work zones, killing 22 motorists and three workers.
Sarkella said parents can start teaching work zone safety at home.
“Slow down and pay attention,” he said. “It’s even something that my wife and I are starting to teach our oldest son. I ask him, buddy, what are we doing in work zones? And he says, ‘dad, we slow down.’”