Students at Keystone Charter School in West Salem Township learned a valuable lesson Thursday about work zone safety.

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation's Mercer County maintenance department organized the program for the high school students in conjunction with Work Zone Safety Awareness Week, which runs through Saturday.

State police, PennDOT employees and local officials took turns talking to students about the importance of safe-driving habits.

Debra Schreckengost, community relations coordinator. said the program targets young drivers to help them understand what happens in a work zone.

Recognizing work zones, obeying work-zone traffic-control devices and flag people are important to the safety of highway workers. Driving precautions such as slowing down and minimizing distractions in work zones can help to prevent accidents and possible deaths. In four out of five work-zone crashes, the motorist is the one at fault, Ms. Schreckengost said.

It's the highway workers who have a far greater chance of being injured than motorists in work zones. State trooper Bill Williams said more highway workers are killed each year than state patrol officers. Williams spoke to students and answered their questions about the penalties associated with reckless driving.

In June, new regulations regarding work zones will go into effect. A person caught driving over the speed limit in an active work zone will get ticketed. Fines will be doubled. Stiffer penalties also will apply to motorists involved in work-zone crashes caught speeding 11 miles over the limit. Drivers must also turn on their headlights or pay a $25 fine.

Crews in Pennsylvania work zones have traded their old bright orange uniforms for bright yellow ones, making them more visible to motorists.

There are also new signs to make things easier for motorists, such as the "active work zone" sign that sends a flashing signal warning motorists of highway workers.

"We're trying everything we can do to make workers safer and how public should proceed through them," Ms. Schreckengost said.

You can e-mail Herald Staff Writer Larissa Theodore at: ltheodore@sharonherald.com