Road construction season is here, and with warmer weather in Saskatchewan, work zones may also start being set up on the side of the road.
Brydon Brunsch, operations manager for Brad’s Towing, said they’re looking for people to slow down when the lights are on and the pylons are out.
“Because there’s still someone on the side of the road working, right? So they’re trying to set up a safe work zone so they can get in and get the truck, or whatever they’re loading moved. So we ask the people just kind of slow down, give us the few minutes we need to do the job we need to do and get out.”
Brunsch said people speeding when they’re trying to do their job happens all too often.
“That happens regularly. It doesn’t matter which road or highway you’re on, there’s always a few people that go cruising by too fast. You try to get out enough pylons, and have your work lights on, and give people enough warning.
“A lot of people haven’t been stranded on the side of the road, they don’t realize what it’s like to have a vehicle go buzzing past you at 100 kilometres when you’re standing there.”
Tyler McMurchy with SGI said impatience is an issue for some drivers.
“If you were to put it in the context of if your desk was located a few feet from vehicles travelling by, you’d want those vehicles travelling at an appropriate speed to make sure they’re keeping everybody safe.”
McMurchy noted that speeding through construction zones is the most significant category of speeding fine, and can cost drivers over $1,000, and three demerit points.
He added there have been an average of 1,400 speeding tickets written in work zones per year over the past three years.
Michael Brenholen, the director of operations for St. John Ambulance, which teaches about roadside safety, said people working along the road need to keep themselves safe.
“One of the things that we emphasize is that you cannot trust anyone to do the right thing. So you need to keep yourself safe, and to be situationally aware,” Brenholen said.
“You can do your best, but motorists tend to be distracted. Especially in an emergency scene they’re interested to see what’s going on, so they’re not paying as much attention as they need to be to the safety of the people in the area.”
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