Oregon Injury Lawyer Blog
The death of a highway worker in Canby last week turns a spotlight both on the dangers roadside workers ensure and, once again, on the problem of Oregon drunk driving.
According to The Oregonian, a 48-year-old man who was “placing warning signs about road construction near South New Era Road near South Haines Road” died last week after he was hit by a car believed to have been driven by a drunk driver. The paper reports that the driver was taken into police custody and an investigation is under way.
This incident is a sad reminder of the importance of exercising caution around highway workers. All too often, too many drivers fail to heed warnings to slow down in construction zones or other places where road workers are present. Many drivers also fail to give roadside workers a sufficiently wide berth when passing them.
Such precautions are the law, but they are also simple common sense. Oregon drunk driving poses an especially great danger to roadside workers, but the human consequences can be just as serious when the issue is distracted driving or even ordinary reckless or negligent conduct behind the wheel.
As an Oregon drunk driving victims attorney, it is important to remind everyone of the responsibilities they undertake whenever they get behind the wheel of a car, truck or other vehicle. All of us need to remember that driving can be quite dangerous and that the rules of the road are there to protect not only us, but the people around us as well. This responsibility extends to those who sell beer, wine and liquor. Under Oregon’s dram shop laws the responsibility for a fatal Oregon drunk driving accident can include people who sold alcohol to someone who should have been cut off. These laws are a reminder that on the roads we all have a responsibility for each other.
The Oregonian: Highway worker struck and killed in Canby
