A plan to improve safety for drivers and highway workers was announced last week after 46 people died in highway work-related accidents last year.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich said the plan was necessary because of dangerous conditions created by speeding drivers.

“I know most Illinois drivers respect the hard work of roadway workers across the state by slowing down in construction zones,” Blagojevich said. “Unfortunately, there are a few drivers out there who don’t seem to understand just how dangerous speeding through a work zone can be. That’s why we are taking steps, both immediate and long term, to protect workers from dangerous drivers.”

The DeKalb Police Department receives a handful of calls per week concerning speeding motorists, DeKalb Police Chief Bill Feithen said.

Feithen pointed to fast-paced lifestyles and distracted drivers as major reasons for speeding violations.

“People tend to run busier lives,” said Feithen, whose department issued 1,298 speeding tickets last year.

The legislation introduced by Blagojevich would increase fines for speeding in a work zone from $150 to a minimum of $375, with a second violation costing at least $700.

Seven workers died in 2003 because of reckless drivers, with nearly 40 drivers, passengers and one pedestrian dying in highway work zone accidents.

Work zone fatalities increased nationwide 53 percent from 1998 to 2002, according to the Federal Highway Administration, with 80 percent of deaths consisting of drivers or passengers.

The bill also would set up a program allowing photo enforcement technologies to take snapshots of speeding motorists and an increase of police authority in work zones. Officers would be able to arrest drivers speeding more than 20 mph above the posted limit.

Drivers should focus their attention on the road, not on their cell phones or radios, said Tim Martin, Illinois Department of Transportation secretary.

“Slowing down to 45 will only add a minute to your trip, and not slowing down could cost you $200, or it could cost a worker their life,” Martin said.

New strategies to increase safety by IDOT, Illinois State Police and the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority also are in the works, including a revised driver’s education curriculum emphasizing highway safety and signs warning motorists of fines and jail time incurred for hitting workers.

IDOT engineers also have requested $1.7 million for additional state troopers in work zones.

Blagojevich issued a stern warning to potential speeders.

“Anybody who doesn’t take these laws seriously needs to know that the Illinois State Police will take a zero-tolerance approach to drivers who speed through these work zones,” Blagojevich said.

DeKalb offers a Citizen Speed Control program, which allows citizens to borrow radar guns to log speeding violations and report them to police, Feithen said.

For more information about CSC, call the DeKalb patrol division at 748-8400.