Skip to main content

Wonder Lake drivers recognize state animal – the road construction sign

According to the State of Illinois, the state animal is the ‘White Tail Deer.’ But, here in Wonder Lake, we know better. We know that the state animal is the road construction sign. Seen most often in the spring, summer and fall, the road construction sign is found out and about foraging for frustrated drivers on Illinois roads.

You will usually spot the road construction sign near some of their brothers and sisters – orange-and-white-striped road cones. Sometimes, you’ll see them near their one-legged brethren, the caution sign that is propped up by a road construction flagger. 

Throughout the state and beyond, as well as in Wonder Lake, you’ll find the road construction flagger accompanied by road construction workers and their assorted road construction machinery. 

Inevitably, these indicators of road construction specify that drivers slow down and use the greatest possible caution as they drive. This is because none of us want road construction workers, or flaggers, to be hit by passing vehicles.


If you ask anyone who has ever hit a white tail deer with their car, they’ll tell you how much damage it can do to your vehicle. Drivers and passengers are often hurt in these collisions but, whether they are or not, it’s quite possible that repairs to a vehicle will be extensive.

The State of Illinois has gone out of its way to ensure that striking a road construction worker or flagger is ALWAYS extremely costly. In Illinois, the fine for hitting a construction worker is $25,000 and the driver can also face up to 14 years in prison. But even if you don’t hit a construction worker, failing to adhere to construction speed limits can result in costly tickets.

Beyond speed restrictions, the Illinois Department of Transportation insists that you otherwise drive with caution near construction zones. DO NOT use a cell phone near a construction zone. You can receive an expensive ticket for doing so.

You need to abide by the road construction signs, including that one-legged sign propped up by a flagger. Use your signals and make sure they work. You’ll want your signals – turn signals, brake lights, reverse lights, headlights and other signal lights to work any time you drive anyhow. It’s not a bad idea to have them checked out when you bring your car in for an oil change or other service.


While the fine associated with tickets, not to mention that penalties for hitting a road worker, are high, with the latter, there is also the costs of associated civil costs. Road workers don’t like to be hit by cars. And if the road worker doesn’t survive, their families are known to be unhappy about it, too.

Beyond the fines, the emotional cost for a driver who has seriously injured or killed a road worker is immeasurable. 

As the maps accompanying this article indicate, there is a significant amount of road construction planned in Illinois, McHenry County and Wonder Lake. It pays to be aware and drive safely in and out of construction zones.


oil change Wonder Lake


Labels:
Location: Wonder Lake, IL, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Is your antifreeze safe from freezing this Richmond winter

You still have time to have it checked Well, there’s no denying it – winter tends to get chilly here in Richmond. We have to deal with snow and ice on the roads, scraping the same off our windows and windshield, and staying warm while we drive. Of course, you had your antifreeze checked before winter rolled into town. What?! You didn’t have your antifreeze checked before winter clamped down on Richmond? So, how’s your antifreeze doing?  If you haven’t had it checked, there’s really no way of knowing, is there? This car has overheated in the middle of a Richmond  winter. But, on the other end of the spectrum, the antifreeze can also freeze if it's not up to its job. Hopefully, you haven’t had a serious problem with your antifreeze already. If you did, you’d probably know. When antifreeze fails, it’s a potentially catastrophic condition for your vehicle’s engine. You could have hoses that have burst because of freezing antifreeze. Worse than that, your engine block may have crac...
1 comment
Read more

Blocks of ice falling from cars in McHenry could cause accidents or damage

We’ve all seen those blocks of snow falling from behind the rear tires of a car when the snow rolls into McHenry . Fortunately, they’re just packed snow that will disintegrate under your vehicle’s tires as you simply drive right through them, right? Don’t count on it. Those blocks of snow are often packed so tight, condensed by the thaw-and-freeze cycle, that they’re anything but oversized snowballs . They’re often more like boulders.  Hit one of those blocks and the collision between the block and one of your tires could send you careening off the road or into oncoming traffic. In some cases, they’re so solid you could pound them with a sledgehammer with little effect. They truly can represent a serious road hazard. The problem is that it’s difficult to tell how solidly they’re packed when you see them on the road, left their unwittingly by another driver. Either way, your best bet is to try to avoid them. But you want to be careful dodging blocks of ice in the road, too. You need...
Post a Comment
Read more

October 20 Hootenanny will benefit veterans with PTSD

Been to a Hootenanny lately? When you read that question did you ask, “What?” Well, if you have gone to a Hootenanny in a while, or if you don’t know what a hootenanny is, we have an event for Oct. 20 that will clear up either question. From 6 p.m. to Midnight, Saturday, Oct. 20, MC3, the McHenry Area Chamber of Commerce business networking group, is helping to host an inaugural Veterans R&R Wild Horse Hootenanny at Beyond Stable Farm (11129 Rte. 176, Woodstock). The event will benefit Veterans R&R Operation Wild Horse. Operation Wild Horse serves veterans with PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder). Working with the horses has proven to have an incredibly calming effect on the veterans. And, it’s good for the horses, too, rescued wild mustangs. This means that the hootenanny is for a very good cause. But, it’s also a lot of fun. So, what is a hootenanny? According to a Google search, a hootenanny is “an informal gathering with folk music and sometimes dancing.” The V...
Post a Comment
Read more