HARRISBURG -- Lawmakers are working to get a highway safety bill enacted before they break for summer recess. The Senate Transportation Committee Tuesday unanimously approved the bill to crack down on speeders in highway work zones, one month after the measure cleared the House.

Sen. Roger Madigan, R-23 of Towanda, the panel chairman, said he would like to see the legislation signed into law in time to make conditions safer during the summer highway construction season.

"The sooner we can get it done, the better," he added. "We are into the season now." The bill, which goes to the Senate Appropriations Committee, would create a uniform look for work zones across Pennsylvania with standard motorist warning signs. It gives state officials stronger tools to keep unsafe trucks off the roads.

The bill requires a 15-day license suspension for drivers who speed in excess of 11 mph in so-called active highway work zones where workers are present and work is being conducted. Drivers who recklessly or negligently kill or injure a person in a construction area would face felony-grade penalties.

The bill would require PennDOT and contractors to clearly mark active work zones with white strobe lights or similar illuminated lights when workers are present. The bill designates active work zones to distinguish from sections of highway set up for ongoing work, but where workers may not actually be on the job at a given time.

The bill requires that drivers turn on their vehicle headlights when traveling through any marked work zone and eliminates any consideration of a "speed tolerance" above the posted speed limit for drivers traveling through an active work zone.

A section of the bill requires PennDOT to establish "Highway Safety Corridors" where traffic and engineering studies warrant it. These corridors could be a highway section that presents a safety concern to motorists.

Madigan amended the bill to have a minimum weight reclassification for motor vehicle carriers apply to trucks engaged in interstate travel only. This reclassification from 17,000 pounds to 10,000 pounds will enable more truck inspections. Madigan said he wants to minimize the impact for small businesses in the state.

This legislation is a response to increasing concerns about the death toll on Pennsylvania highways and particularly in work zones. Pennsylvania reports 859 truck-related fatalities between 1994 and 1998, 100 lives lost in work zone crashes between 1996 and 2000, three state troopers killed since 1995 and six PennDOT workers killed in work zones since 1995.