Construction season in Swift Current and across the province is in full tilt, and SGI is reminding drivers to slow down when you see orange.

The focus of July’s Traffic Safety Spotlight is work zones. Police will be paying more attention, and photo radar will be set up in work zones to catch motorists who speed.

Tyler McMurchy, media relations manager for SGI, said it's about keeping the workers safe more than anything.

"We want to keep in mind the safety of those workers who are occupying those zones. The people who are working hard to fix and build our roads, so they are much safer for everybody who travels them. The least we can do to repay them for that is to keep them safe while they are doing that work," he said.

Drivers are required to slow to 60 km/h or the speed that’s posted when passing a highway worker, flag person or highway equipment with warning lights flashing.

Exceeding the 60 km/h speed limit by 20 km/h will cost you $440. If you’re going 40km/h over the limit, that’s going to cost you $1,008. Plus, you’ll lose at least three Safe Driver Recognition points on your licence, which can lead to further financial penalties.

McMurchy said if you are travelling, you should plan to run into some form of construction and that you can also check the Highway Hotline to see if construction is happening on the road you're travelling.

"Leave early or give yourself a little extra time to get there. But, even if you haven't done that, you encounter that, and you are facing a little bit of a delay, it's really important to just be patient,” he noted. “You'll get where you are going eventually. It's the summer. Enjoy the ride, turn up the radio, enjoy some road tunes, some conversation with your passengers and just pay attention to the road."

He added that drivers can also slow down and expect the unexpected, keep a safe following distance between you and the vehicle in front of you, obey posted signs and flag persons.

In 2018, there were nearly 1,500 convictions for speeding in work zones - something McMurchy said is only the tip of the iceberg for how many people went uncaught.

"We did a media event with a number of people from the construction industry, and all of them had numerous tales of people ignoring speed limits, blowing through construction zones, knocking over pylons, workers having to dive out of the way," McMurchy stated. “That’s not something we want to ever see."

"The tickets are more expensive, but more important than that is the potential human cost. Those work zones are occupied by our friends, our neighbours, husbands, wives, sons, daughters, and people’s mothers and fathers."