New Arkansas traffic safety laws take effect August 5

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Arkansas drivers will see new changes on the roads beginning Tuesday as three new laws go into effect statewide.

Each law targets improved safety in highway work zones, aiming to increase awareness, enhance visibility, and reduce the risk of accidents for road workers and drivers alike.

“We hope we’ll get people’s attention and save some lives out there,” said Dave Parker, spokesperson for the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT). “If any of these laws can help in the smallest way—that’s one life that we can save—and that’s worth every bit of this.”

Under House Bill 1596, now Act 327 of 2025, fines for moving traffic violations—such as speeding or reckless driving—will now be doubled in mobile work zones, just as they currently are in traditional, stationary zones.

“There is a little difference there,” Parker explained. “A static work zone is what you would consider more traditional—contractors, ARDOT workers out there on the roadway doing some long-term work. But we found our workers were also out there patching potholes, picking up trash, striping roads—something more short-term and still just as dangerous.”

The law defines mobile work zones as temporary sites where city, county, or ARDOT crews are actively working for a limited time. These zones must be marked by a sign, barrier, or flashing light on a work vehicle.

“The intent is not to write a bunch of tickets,” he said. “It’s to get awareness and ultimately more safety for our workers as well as the contractors.”

The second measure, House Bill 1475—now Act 209 of 2025—permits ARDOT and its contractors to use flashing green lights on maintenance and construction vehicles. The goal is to improve visibility in all weather and lighting conditions.

“You’d think a large truck rolling down the highway would be very visible—but still, it wasn’t getting everyone’s attention,” Parker said. “We looked at how we can enhance the lights, and the green lights—actually something other states have tried—worked really well.”

After a pilot program in 2024, the department found that green lights improved visibility both day and night.

“Our workers felt safer out there,” he said. “The public responded, ‘Hey, we can see it day and night,’ which was critical.”

A third change, Senate Bill 78 (now Act 117 of 2025), will add a work zone safety section to the Arkansas Driver’s Manual and written exam for new drivers. This will include statistics, penalties, and real-life accounts from road workers and their families.

“As a father of two teenage drivers, I was surprised there was nothing in the Arkansas Driver’s Manual about work zones,” Parker said. “Now, Arkansas drivers—15- and 16-year-olds trying to get that permit—will be taught: ‘You’re driving, you see the orange signs, what do you do?’”

The manual will also include a Q&A section and instructions for safe driving behavior in construction zones, such as when to slow down and how to recognize posted signs and workers.

State officials and ARDOT leaders say these changes reflect a growing need to protect workers in high-risk environments, especially in light of recent accidents and fatalities.

“It is our worst day when we hear that an ARDOT worker or a contract worker has been hit and seriously hurt in a crash,” Parker said. “We’ve had a lot of those unfortunately happen in the past few years—and something had to be done.”

To read the full texts of these acts and others passed during the 2025 legislative session, visit arkleg.state.ar.us.