SMYRNA, Del. - Mangled metal on the side of Route 1 in Smyrna was all that was left from a work zone crash Monday.
The piece of equipment, known as a truck mounted attenuator, or TMA, is meant to protect road crews at work along the side of the road.
That is exactly what it did Monday.
"An inattentive driver struck another vehicle, causing that vehicle to crash into one of our work trucks. Luckily there were no serious injuries either from the vehicle striking the DelDOT vehicle and none of our employees were hurt or worse," explained C.R. McLeod, director of community relations for the Delaware Department of Transportation.
Those TMAs are worth $20,000 a piece. But DelDOT says they are worth every penny if it means keeping workers safe.
"We want to make sure they get home to their families at the end of each day as well, and just ask that our drivers be more aware and more courteous around our work zones."
McLeod tells WBOC that DelDOT is especially concerned about unsafe driving habits after seeing a spike in traffic fatalities from this time last year. In 2019, 133 people were killed on Delaware's roads. McLeod estimates that fatalities are up almost 100% in the first few months of 2020.
"We currently have 18 traffic fatalities in the state. So it's a trend we're very concerned about, we're going to be working with our partner agencies this year to update our Strategic Highway Safety plan, which we do every five years, to look at methods, legislative changes, other strategies we could be using to make our roads safer."
But drivers we spoke with say drivers need to be more responsible when behind the wheel.
"They definitely need to slow down. I've almost gotten into several accidents because people were speeding. So people should slow down, because speeding plays a factor into a lot of accidents," said Ray Jerry of Dover.
As the high traffic months of summer draw nearer, DelDOT is reminding drivers to slow down, move over, and follow traffic laws.
The life you save could be your own.