Anyone who has driven to Saskatoon in the last few weeks knows there is now construction happening.
Work has started on the new HWY 5 passing lanes and this means that at least half of the highway from Humboldt to the HWY 5 and 2 Junction is a 60 zone.
It can be a frustration for people trying to get to Saskatoon, and it does add around 20 minutes to the trip.
However, these work zones, with their lower speed limits, are there for a reason.
Two groups of people are in danger in a construction zone: drivers and workers.
Road work means a decreased quality of the highway, so drivers should be slowing down – for their own safety at least, if not for the safety of other drivers.
With the addition of a turning lane, there is no shoulder on HWY 5 so that workers can add the new passing lane as one piece of construction.
The result is that the highway is significantly narrower and has no shoulder. The side of the road may also have a steep drop-off.
This weekend, on a drive home from Saskatoon, I couldn’t help wondering what would happen if my car went over the edge.
In some places, the drop-off was the height of my car.
No one would want to accidently catch that edge, especially going more than 60 km/hr.
The driving lanes are narrower as well, so it can be nerve-wracking meeting another car in work zones. I found myself hoping other drivers would give me more room than what is allowed by the yellow line.
The narrower driving lane is another reason for not wanting to meet a vehicle coming on at more than 60 km/hr.
While many drivers will be able to relate to my nervousness on that highway, most of us do not know what it is like to work on a highway construction crew.
Most of us will never know what it is like to work in a place where you are constantly in danger, knowing one person’s bad driving decision can have disastrous consequences.
In 2015, according to SGI, three people were killed and 68 injured in work zone crashes.
Behind these statistics are people and their families whose lives were forever changed by someone’s bad driving.
Slowing down to 60 km/hr may seem like an inconvenience, but the speed limit is there so drivers can react quickly enough to help ensure the safety of workers on the road and other drivers.
If the thought of endangering yourself or road crews is not enough to stop you from speeding through a construction zone, it might help to remember that speeding tickets start at $210 and give four demerit points – and fines are tripled if you speed through a work zone while workers are present.
Again, according to SGI statistics, 759 drivers were convicted of speeding through a work zone in 2016.
Let us do our best to keep that number down in 2017.
