Before you put the key in your vehicle’s ignition, stop and think.

You are putting at least 1.4 tons of metal, glass and rubber in motion — easily accelerating up to speeds of 50 mph, 60 mph or even faster. At 50 mph, it takes you about 198 feet to stop, at 60 mph 268 feet.

Weather conditions add to the mix. And while the ice and snow may be behind us this season, orange cone season is starting, and on some roads in Butler County, road construction will be there for years.

The $26.5 million safety improvement project on Balls Bend along Route 228, expected to be completed in 2025, is ripe for some unsafe driving conditions caused by the impatient and the unaware.

The bridge replacement project along Route 8 near the Butler County line in Middlesex Township is a hazardous area for those who need to cross the road to get into nearby neighborhoods or slow to turn into businesses along the way as well as for the workers on site.

And evening and weekend work on Freedom Road in Cranberry Township started challenging drivers in March. The $9.8 million project stretching from Haine School Road to Commonwealth Drive is slated to finish in the fall.

There will be much more construction as crews work to repair roadways and bridges ravaged by Western Pennsylvania's wintry conditions. Potholes are now very real driving dangers.

In order to not become another danger, drivers must exercise caution: slow down and look around.

Envision the drivers ahead as neighbors, your favorite teacher or a beloved relative. Give them time to turn or advance. Watch for construction workers and their moving machinery.

The cost of poor judgment is high.

If caught speeding in an active work zone – that's 11 mph or more above the posted speed limit – drivers face a fine and a 15-day license suspension. Harsher penalties, some doubled, apply for speeding drivers involved in an accident in a work zone.

And while a failure driving at any time can cause injury or death, the odds go up in construction zones. Workers are focused on their jobs and can't look up every time a vehicle passes.

According to preliminary data released by Pennsylvania Department of Transportation on April 6, there were 1,617 work zone crashes in 2021. Fifteen resulted in fatalities.

Since 1970, 90 PennDOT workers have died on the job.

A driver who injures someone in a construction zone could face up to $5,000 in fines and a six-month license suspension.

In addition to the heartbreak and life-changing tragedy of being responsible for someone's death, a driver causing a fatality in a work zone could face up to a $10,000 fine and a year’s license suspension. If convicted of homicide by vehicle for the crash, that same driver can receive an additional five years in prison.

These are life-altering consequences for a moment's lapse in judgment while behind the wheel of a vehicle.

Let's make sure everyone gets home safely. Be aware, be responsible and slow down.

— DJS