SGI’s traffic safety spotlight for July was on construction safety, with a total of 71 tickets issued in construction zones by police during the spotlight.
The tickets break down as such:
- 62 tickets were issued for exceeding 60 km/h when passing highway workers or occupied highway equipment within a work zone,
- one ticket was issued for exceeding 60 km/h when passing a highway worker or flag person,
- 3 tickets for exceeding 60 km/h when passing occupied highway equipment,
- 2 tickets for exceeding 60 km/h when passing highway equipment with warning lights in operation, and
- 3 tickets for failing to obey the directions of a flag person.
This does not include photo enforcement in construction zones, something SGI says is operated by a separate branch of the provincial government. Offenders caught by photo radar will be getting a ticket issued to them by mail in the coming days or weeks.
Spokesperson Tyler McMurchy says when comparing the spotlight to previous years, the numbers are actually down.
“216 tickets were issued by police last year in 2020, and then in 2019 there were 138 speeding tickets,” McMurchy said. “There was also a smaller number of tickets for failing to obey the directions of a flag person: this year it was three tickets, last year it was eight, this year it was one.”
McMurchy says speeding in a construction zone is a costly fine.
“If you don’t slow to 60 km/h, and you continue on at say 100 km/h through an occupied work zone, that’s a ticket of more than $1,000,” McMurchy said. “It’s a very serious hit on your bank account, and it’s something that nobody wants to deal with in the summer.”
McMurchy says it`s important to remember construction zones are someone’s workplace.
“I don’t think anybody of us would want a car blazing passed us at 100 km/h right passed our desk at work,” McMurchy said. “Those folks, the only thing protecting them really is paint and plastic, and so it’s really important for all drivers to keep in mind as they’re passing through our work zones, hat those are people working there.”
Some other notable stats for the month of July include:
- 7,457 aggressive driving or speeding offences
- 819 distracted driving offences (including 691 for cellphone use while driving)
- 591 inappropriate or no seatbelt/child restraint offences
- 467 impaired driving offences (including 340 Criminal Code charges)
SGI’s traffic safety spotlight for the month of August is rural road safety.
