The SGI July traffic safety spotlight is construction zones, and according to the insurance company, it couldn’t have came at a better time.
According to preliminary stats from 2018, there were nearly 1500 convictions for speeding in a work zone, and according to road workers, several close calls happen daily.
Ministry of Highways spokesperson Tom Lees said highway workers see everything.
“They see motorists who don’t even realize that they’re in a work zone and go speeding by, and we’ve had employees who have had to jump out of the way,” Lees said. “We really encourage our employees to have an escape route so that they are always putting themselves in their best interest, and they’re making sure they’re being safe, and unfortunately our staff have to use those safe zones once in a while when motorists are not obeying the rules.”
Heavy Construction Association of Saskatchewan spokesperson Natalya Uchacz said there’s numerous reasons why drivers disobey construction zones, including impatience.
“It is tough with the construction season, there’s lots of construction all over the place, and so it does disrupt traffic pattern,” Uchahcz said. “Unfortunately thought, we have only a certain timeline to do a lot of that construction, and so it’s really important that the public respects that.”
President of the Saskatchewan Heavy Construction Association Shantel Lipp said different areas around the world have better safety procedure for work zone employees.
“In the states, they actually have concrete barricades that block or protect the workers from the oncoming traffic,” Lipp said. “It’s a cumbersome thing to incorporate into a work zone, not to mention costly, but you know, safety first really.”
The speed limit for a construction zone with workers is 60 kilometres an hour. Those going faster face a minimum fine of $240, going up $6 for every kilometre faster than the posted limit.
After going 30 km/h faster than the posted limit, the price jumps to $12 per kilometre of excess speed. This price also does not include the victims of crime surcharge, which is based on the total price of the ticket. For instance, going 80 km/h in a construction zone will cost $440.
