The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is teaming up with the Pennsylvania State Police to protect workers in construction zones by stopping drivers who violate traffic rules.
Operation Yellow Jacket is a new program that PennDOT and the state police are deploying in work zones throughout southeastern Pennsylvania.
Troopers with State Police will now monitor traffic at work zones while wearing PennDOT hard hats and vests.
Officials said that when a trooper notices a car violating traffic laws – like speeding, tailgating and driving while distracted – they will alert a second trooper who will be posted nearby in a marked patrol car.
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That second trooper will then pull over the car making the violation.
Operation Yellow Jacket will be happening in active construction zones on interstates and state highways within our region.
PennDOT said that in 2023 alone, there were 1,216 crashes in work zones with 22 people being killed in the state of Pennsylvania.
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Of those, 309 work zone crashes in the Philadelphia region resulted in three deaths and 11 victims left with serious injuries.
When driving through a work zone in Pennsylvania, state law requires everyone to slow down, turn on their car's headlights and follow all posted speed limits and traffic patterns. For more information, click here.
