Are troopers required at sites of road repairs?
Q: Is there a state law that requires a state trooper to be on duty at the location of every major road repair? It seems that every time a utility line is replaced, a manhole cover is removed or drivers are diverted, there’s a highway patrol car on the scene. Is this simply a safety measure (and expense) that private contractors undertake? Keith Lane, Miami A: There’s no Florida statute that requires a trooper to be on duty, but when the state Department of Transportation authorizes the repaving of a road or the replacement of a utility line, its guidelines ask how many law enforcement officers will be needed on the scene. Their presence is to ensure the safety of the construction or utility workers, as well as drivers and pedestrians. Major Ernesto Duarte, chief of public affairs for the Florida Highway Patrol, recalled an incident in Orlando about a year ago in which a construction supervisor was killed in a collision with a traffic violator. ”Notably, on that specific day,” he sai
