Williamsport, PA, April 24, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A series of infrastructure investments are set to be implemented in Pennsylvania, including bridge rehabilitation, freight rail improvements and a series of other projects. Pennsylvania attorney Cliff Rieders said that “these investments might make Pennsylvania residents safer.”
“There is hopefully little downside to infrastructure spending, and the benefits can be enormous,” Rieders said. “Pennsylvania residents will reap the benefits of these investments, in some ways directly and in some ways that many people might find surprising.”
Rieders said that one obvious safety-related investment is the $11.5 million being devoted to Automated Red Light Enforcement and traffic intersection improvement. This strategy may reduce traffic violations and crashes, he said. There is some controversy in other countries concerning red light enforcement. There is opportunity for mistake and false accusations. Sometimes automated red light enforcement may cause confusion, and even a higher accident rate. Any such changes and investment must be done carefully, with proper safety precautions and engineers who are knowledgeable in the risks.
He also cited less obvious ways that shoring up infrastructure can improve road safety.
“When roads are riddled with potholes and bridges are structurally deficient, drivers pay the price through vehicle wear and tear and traffic congestion,” Rieders said. “Unstable driving conditions breed dangerous situations for drivers. They also cost us time and money.”
Rieders said that the public’s appetite for infrastructure spending should be incentive for bipartisan support among lawmakers.
“People know how important this issue is for their communities,” Rieders said. “It’s something they deal with daily and want progress on.”
Infrastructure is a broadly used term, encompassing roadways, freight lines, waterways, power grids and water lines, to name just a few. Infrastructure experts, such as the American Society of Civil Engineers, say that the United States has had a trend of under-investment in most of these types of infrastructure.
The ASCE gives grades to the overall state of the nation’s infrastructure. The 2017 report card gave the U.S. a D+ across all types of infrastructure. The ASCE also said that our lack of infrastructure spending costs every American family more than $9 each day. They cite house floods, delayed flights and power outages as examples of the costly effects on individual Americans.
Of course, not all investment automatically brings safety. Sometimes work is done in a substandard fashion, or assumptions are made about safety without properly ensuring that appropriate criteria are met. For example, in a case we handled involving a new prison, there was improper guarding of a walkway, causing a worker to fall and be seriously injured. Safety standards were shortcut, and a man’s life was affected forever. We handled that claim successfully.
Many infrastructure changes are done quickly, sloppily, and without due regard for the effect on other components. The rush to build and obtain contracts oftentimes leaves workers and bystanders imperiled. Cliff Rieders of Rieders, Travis, Humphrey, Waters & Dohrmann handles these cases, and you should call us if you have any questions.
About Rieders, Travis, Humphrey, Waters & Dohrmann:
Rieders, Travis, Humphrey, Waters & Dohrmann is a full-service law firm based in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. It offers legal representation in areas that include medical malpractice and personal injury. Learn more about the firm and their legal services by calling 877-644-7775 or visiting their website: http://www.riederstravis.com/