July was another busy month for law enforcement as they focused on catching drivers speeding in both municipal and highway work zones.

During the monthly Traffic Safety Spotlight, 182 tickets were issued in construction zones, all related to speeding.

"The Traffic Safety Spotlight for July was Work Zone Safety," Tyler McMurchy, Media relations manager for SGI said. "During the month of July, law enforcement in Saskatchewan issued 182 tickets in work zones. 177 of those were for exceeding 60 km/h while passing highway workers or occupied highway equipment within a work zone. 5 tickets were for speeding in construction zones, where a flag person was present."

These numbers include all traffic safety focus results submitted by police as of August 18, 2017. They do not include tickets issued through photo speed enforcement.

As there are still many active road construction projects across the province, SGI is reminding motorists to obey speed limits and exercise caution when driving in work zones. If the work zone is signed, drivers must slow to the posted speed limits, regardless of whether workers are present.

Base fines for speeding in a construction zone when workers are present are triple that of a regular speeding ticket.

"We know that the base fines for those speeding tickets is tripled," McMurchy said. "the fines start at $210 and increase $3 for every kilometre over the speed limit. There's also a victim surcharge, so those numbers add up very quickly."

Other results from July’s Traffic Safety Spotlight:

  • 5,514 tickets for speeding or aggressive driving
  • 522 tickets for inappropriate or no seatbelt/child restraint
  • 462 tickets for distracted driving (including 337 for cellphone use)
  • 382 impaired driving offences (including 327 Criminal Code charges)

Visit SGI’s website to learn more about work zones and speeding.