Fasten your seat belts — literally and figuratively — as the start of spring this weekend and the coming of Easter usher in exciting periods of renewal and improvement on personal, spiritual and even practical fronts. Nowhere will that renewal be more visible than on the streets and highways of the Mahoning Valley as the spring and summer work-zone construction season rolls into full swing.

But with so much-anticipated renewal to many of our congested and potholed thoroughfares also comes the increased potential for life-threatening danger.

Even without the added hazards of large numbers of road-work zones for motorists, the past year has been noteworthy for its slight spike in traffic crashes and fatalities in our region, a trend that sadly conflicts with the overall decline in traffic deaths statewide. Mahoning and Trumbull counties recorded 37 deaths in 2025, compared with 34 in 2024, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol database.

Now through fall, road hazards will only multiply as more than $100 million in Ohio Department of Transportation projects are in the works for Mahoning and Trumbull counties. Some upcoming projects include $55 million to reconstruct Interstate 680 in Youngstown that will force closings of parts of the major highway, $12 million to improve and pave the busy Route 224 corridor in Boardman, a $10 million project to construct a truck parking area at a former rest stop in Hubbard Township and a $6.2 million improvement project at the congested state Route 46 and Warren-Sharon Road intersection in Howland.

Many accidents over the next seven months of the year take place in such road-work zones and in areas where other vehicles sit idle on the side of the roadway.

That’s why cautious, careful and commonsensical driving must rule the road. And that’s why the Ohio Highway Patrol wisely promotes its “Move Over, Slow Down” campaign to remind all motorists of the basics of the Move Over law in Ohio.

The law that was enacted in 2004 and expanded in 2009 requires all drivers to move over one traffic lane whenever approaching any vehicle with flashing or rotating lights parked on the roadside or in construction zones. If moving over is not possible due to traffic or weather conditions, motorists should slow down and proceed with extreme caution. Failure to do so could land drivers with a misdemeanor conviction and hefty fines.

Troopers from the Highway Patrol witnessed about 250 work-zone crashes in the Valley from March 1, 2025, through March 15, 2026, according to the patrol’s database. Fines for such irresponsible driving generally are doubled in work zones. Troopers and other road-law enforcers should act just as aggressively this road-work season in apprehending such careless motorists.

The importance of work-zone driver safety hit home tragically last October with the on-duty death of Trooper Nicholas P. Cayton. He was actively working in his patrol cruiser and was fatally struck from behind by a driver who failed to move over. The crash occurred in the northbound lanes of state Route 11 in Canfield.

“The loss of Trooper Nicholas Cayton is an absolute tragedy for the Ohio State Highway Patrol family and the entire state of Ohio,” said Col. Charles A. Jones, Patrol superintendent. “When drivers move over and slow down, they help protect themselves and the men and women who are in harm’s way to keep others safe.”

One of the major causes of crashes inside and outside of work zones on our highways remains distracted driving. Motorists must be cognizant of the dangers of taking their hands, eyes or minds off the road. The state’s relatively new law that strengthens enforcement and penalties for distracted driving provide added incentives.

And troopers are dead serious about apprehending such scofflaws. During the first 2 ½ months of this year, the patrol issued 8,250 distracted driving citations, including 363 in Mahoning and Trumbull counties.

To help drive down the rising number of distracted driving violators and work-zone crashes, state Reps. Gary Click, R-Sandusky, and Mark Johnson, R-Chillicothe, have introduced House Bill 82. It would strengthen penalties, require driver education training for violators and allow video monitoring at work-zone sites. Unlike similar legislation that died on the vine in the last Ohio General Assembly, state representatives and senators should act speedily to enact these added safeguards.

Clearly, the stakes are high. That’s why all motorists also should follow these work-zone driving tips from the state patrol:

• Don’t speed. Obey reduced speed limits in work zones. It takes less than a minute to drive through a 2-mile work zone at 45 mph than at 65 mph. One of the most common causes of work-zone crashes is excessive speed.

• Don’t tailgate. Most accidents in work zones are rear-end collisions.

• Stay alert. Dedicate full attention to the roadway. The traffic pattern in a work zone may be shifted, and lanes may be closed.

By seriously following such sage advice, motorists can go far toward preventing a minor short-term inconvenience from morphing into a major long-term tragedy.