When you are driving your car, you have the responsibility to watch out for road construction and slow down. But what happens when road construction is improperly marked, or set up in such a way that it makes it very easy to get into a collision while driving through the construction zone. When this happens, the responsibility can fall squarely upon the shoulders of the highway department that was doing construction on the road and they can be liable for damages to your car, medical bills and other expenses that you incurred as a result of the accident.

The United States Bureau of Labor reports that there were over 2,000 transportation accidents in 2008 and some of these happened in construction zones. In fact, the accident rate is so high that our state has instituted the Slow For The Cone Zone campaign to keep roadways safer. Some of these accidents are not the fault of the drivers – who were acting responsibly – but were the fault of misplaced signs, flaggers not paying attention or placement of road work equipment that was bound to cause an accident.

Construction zones must be properly maintained in order for vehicles to know which way they are to proceed, the exact speed that they need to go, and when the construction zone comes to an end so that they don't increase their speed too early. Flaggers need to give clear, recognizable signals to drivers and be in communication with other flaggers, if there are any, at the other end of the road. In addition, signs must be clearly posted, cones must be placed correctly and the construction zone must be marked out clearly so that drivers know where it begins and ends.

If these factors are not all in place, then communication breaks down between the driver of the vehicle and the construction workers at the site. This leads to cars getting too close to missing roadways, edges where guardrails are not present, or getting in the way of construction vehicles and equipment which can cause an accident. If the flaggers are not doing their jobs, then drivers may find that they are in the path of the stream of cars coming from the other direction. This can lead to a dangerous and sometimes deadly scenario for the car in question.

If a road construction crew or highway department does not fulfill their obligation to alert you to the presence of construction equipment and work zones, and you get into an accident as a result of the construction area then you should contact attorney a car accident and personal injury attorney, so that you might be able to receive compensation for the injuries that you suffered, or are perhaps still suffering, as well as receiving money for the towing, storage and repair of your car, and the medical bills that were a result of the accident.