Release – May 2026. Image provided by Lonny Frost © April 21, 2026, in Mansfield, PA.
NORTH CENTRAL, PA – In an effort to enhance the safety on north central Pennsylvania roadways for both construction workers and motorists, the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) have teamed up again for the 2026 construction season to deploy “Operation Yellow Jacket” in highway work zones.
“Operation Yellow Jacket” places state police troopers inside PennDOT vehicles in active construction zones. While inside the vehicles, they can monitor for traffic violations such as speeding, tailgating, distracted driving, and other violations. If the trooper sees a violation, they will communicate to another trooper in a marked PSP patrol unit to initiate a traffic stop.
“With our presence in work zones, PSP’s goal is not to issue citations, but to deter the unsafe behaviors that would result in violations,” said Pennsylvania State Police Troop F Public Information Officer Trooper Sara Barrett. “Aggressive and distracted driving puts highway workers, drivers, passengers and other road users at unnecessary risk of death or injury.”
“We appreciate PSP for partnering with District 3 for a second year to keep work zones safe for both the highway workers and the traveling public,” said Assistant District Engineer for Maintenance Ken Bair. “We urge all drivers to obey signs and flaggers, drive the posted work zone speed limit, stay alert, maintain a safe following distance, and please be patient.”
Operation Yellow Jacket is part of a broader effort to curb the number of work zone crashes in the region. In 2025, PennDOT recorded 1,393 work zone crashes in Pennsylvania, resulting in 12 fatalities, and 49 serious injuries. Since 1970, PennDOT has lost 93 workers in the line of duty.
State law requires drivers to slow down, turn on their headlights, and obey all posted speed limits and traffic patterns when driving through work zones. Under Title 75, Section 3326, drivers caught by police driving 11 mph or more above the posted speed limit in an active work zone, or who are involved in a crash in an active work zone and are convicted for failing to drive at a safe speed, automatically lose their license for 15 days. Additionally, fines for certain traffic violations — including speeding, driving under the influence, and failure to obey traffic devices — are doubled for active work zones. The law also provides for up to five years of additional jail time for individuals convicted of homicide by vehicle for a crash that occurred in an active work zone.
