HARRISBURG – Pennsylvania Department of Transportation officials remind motorists that Operation Yellow Jacket is continuing in construction zones in District 8’s eight-county south central Pennsylvania region.
In an effort to keep work zones safe, Pennsylvania State Police troopers in PennDOT vehicles monitor traffic traveling within PennDOT’s designated work zones. If the trooper observes a violation such as speeding, tailgating, distracted driving and other violations, they communicate to another trooper in a marked PSP patrol unit to initiate a traffic stop.
The strategy is part of a broader effort to curb the number of work zone crashes in the region. In 2024, 1,250 crashes occurred in work zones in Pennsylvania – resulting in 22 fatalities and 62 suspected serious injuries.
Operation Yellow Jacket allows PennDOT and PSP to work together to keep Pennsylvania highways safe for motorists and highway maintenance and construction crews.
“Just because you don’t see a police vehicle in a work zone doesn’t mean your speed isn’t being monitored,” said PennDOT Assistant District 8 Executive for Construction Mike Reeder. “Rather than see citations issued, we want people to slow down for their own safety as well as the safety of our highway workers.”
State law requires drivers to slow down, turn on their headlights, and obey all posted speed limits and traffic patterns when driving through work zones. Motorists caught by police driving 11 mph or more above the posted speed limit in an active work zone, or who are involved in a crash in an active work zone and are convicted for failing to drive at a safe speed, automatically lose their license for 15 days.
Additionally, fines for certain traffic violations — including speeding, driving under the influence, and failure to obey traffic devices — are doubled for active work zones. The law also provides for up to five years of additional jail time for individuals convicted of homicide by vehicle for a crash that occurred in an active work zone.
