WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — New high-tech equipment may help protect highway crews doing road construction or road resurfacing as well as Road Rangers who stop to help motorists change a flat tire on I-95 or the Turnpike.
The idea for this equipment was sparked by the death of a road construction worker about a year ago in West Palm Beach.
In December 2023, a worker doing road resurfacing was struck at about 3:40 a.m. near the intersection of North Congress Avenue and Executive Center Drive.
While he did not survive, new technology could prevent another tragedy like this from happening again.
Road construction zone at night. (Ranger Construction)
It’s a warning system that could save lives.
It’s called the Road Defender — which includes a watch that emits a siren — giving road construction workers a few seconds to get out of the way if a driver is coming right at them.
“I think there’s a lot of potential in this device. I’m excited about using it,” Ranger Construction Vice-President of Safety & Risk Management Mark Ligon said.
Vixon Louis, 67, of Miami, an employee of Ranger Construction, was struck by a hit and run driver who plowed through a road construction zone in West Palm Beach in 2023. He later died at St. Mary’s Medical Center.
“More advanced warning would’ve given him a chance to get out of the way. Whether in fact he would’ve been able to, we don’t know that. But at least it would’ve given him the opportunity,” Ligon said.
Ligon felt he had to find a way to prevent another tragedy like this.
“Our system could help prevent this thing from happening in the future by using long-range sensors that collect incoming traffic to then give the workers early warning in the event of a potential danger,” said Jason Lee, CEO and Founder, SmartCone Technologies.
A unit, which is basically the brain of the system, is mounted on the repaving vehicle that road workers use.
It has a long-range digital camera, a radar, and artificial intelligence component that watches oncoming traffic approaching the road workers’ work zone.
“This sees up to a mile down the road. So together inside the computer that’s in our device, it takes the radar, it tells the unit hey, we got lots of traffic coming at a certain speed, the AI camera begins watching the traffic and look at its behavior and if it’s a behavior that’s questioned it flashes a light on top here and sends a message to the watches,” Lee said.
The workers then run to an orange cone, called a muster cone, which has floodlights and is placed in a safe spot they can reach in a hurry.
The goal is to give them at least five seconds warning before an approaching driver might hit them.
“What we’re trying to do is give people awareness to make a better decision as fast as possible,” Lee said.
SmartCone Technologies founder Jason Lee says this same equipment could protect Road Rangers from being hit on I-95 or the Turnpike, as we have seen in two incidents in south Florida recently.
He also says it might’ve saved the three Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office motorcycle deputies who were struck and killed on Southern Blvd. in November 2024.
“I hope that it helps reduce incidents and saves lives, but I also hope it gives workers more confidence and awareness when they’re working on the street so they can feel safer and better and more confident with their job,” Lee explained.
West Palm Beach is the first place in the U.S. where this equipment is being used to protect road workers. Ranger Construction may purchase more of them once they’ve had some experience using them.
CREDIT: CBS 12 Al Pefley
