As three new rules aimed at enhancing safety in highway work zones take effect Tuesday, drivers in Arkansas will notice revised information in the driver’s manual, new flashing green lights on work vehicles, and harsher fines.
With an emphasis on public education and road worker protection, the statutes, which were passed during the 2025 Arkansas Legislative Session, address both temporary mobile and permanent static work zones.
In movable labor zones, fines double.
Fines for moving traffic infractions are now doubled in mobile work zones under Act 327, previously House Bill 1596. Up until recently, the stiffer penalty only applied to infractions in stationary work zones.
Any temporary work area on a highway or road, such as for debris removal, striping, or repairing potholes, where construction workers from the Arkansas Department of Transportation, cities, counties, or contractors are present, is referred to as a mobile work zone.
Work trucks owned by the Arkansas Department of Transportation will now have signage that indicate “mobile work zone/fines double” to help warn drivers. To alert drivers, appropriate lighting and signage are necessary, much like in stationary work zones.
Green lights make things easier to see.
Act 209, formerly House Bill 1475, permits the Arkansas Department of Transportation or local governments to deploy green flashing lights on road construction and maintenance trucks. The modification comes after a pilot program demonstrated that green lights can enhance visibility in poor weather, fog, and bright sunlight.
Emergency or warning lights on roadway construction and maintenance vehicles can now be amber, white, green, or any combination of those hues. They can also rotate, flash, or oscillate.
The driver’s exam now includes work zone safety.
Act 117, previously Senate Bill 78, mandates that the written license exam and the Arkansas Driver’s Manual provide more information about work zone safety.
Among the new material will be:
risks and sanctions for careless driving in construction areas.data and testimonies from families and construction workers.Advice for increasing awareness and decreasing speed.a section with questions and answers regarding safe driving in construction zones.
Reiterating the value of exercising caution around road personnel and better preparing novice drivers are the objectives.
For additional details and complete legislative texts, go to arkleg.state.ar.us.
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