'Someone's workplace': SGI reminding drivers to slow down in construction zones

SGI reminds drivers to slow down in work zones Watch: As the construction season continues, SGI reminds drivers to be careful on work zones. Cole Davenport explains.

Saskatchewan Government Insurance is reminding drivers to slow down while travelling through work zones this summer.

Police will be on the lookout for drivers speeding through construction zones during July’s Traffic Safety Spotlight.

“That’s someone’s workplace you’re driving through,” said Joe Hargrave, minister responsible for SGI, in a news release. “The extra time you might gain by speeding through a work zone just isn’t worth the risk.”

People driving through orange zones should be mindful of workers, obey traffic signs and take directions from flag people, SGI says.

“Workers and machinery are both very close to traffic in work zones,” Shantel Lipp, president of the Saskatchewan Heavy Construction Association, said in a release. “Work zones tend to be more congested due to lane reductions, so things can happen fast – which makes any number of speeders in work zones unacceptable.”

When passing through construction zones, drivers should slow to 60 kilometres an hour, or the posted speed.

Going over the speed limit by 20 kilometres an hour will result in a $440 ticket; a 40 kilometre an hour infraction will cost $1,008. Drivers will also lose at least three Safety Driver Recognition points, SGI says.

SGI says there were nearly 1,500 tickets handed out last year for speeding in work zones.