Lead foots to have lighter wallets
Published Friday July 18th, 2008
Traffic | Higher fines in construction zones
The next construction worker you see toiling on the road could be a police officer.
Fredericton Police Force members have launched a two-week educational enforcement blitz to deter speeders in construction zones - and you may not be able to tell a police officer from a construction worker unless you're really sharp-eyed.
Members of the city's traffic enforcement section will don coveralls and hard hats and mingle with construction crews to make sure drivers are obeying the law.
They'll wear the police crest on their sleeve, or the word "Police" on the reflective yellow X on the back of their coveralls.
Those caught speeding in construction zones will pay double the usual fine - up to $1,200.
While some may dub the enforcement sting a tad deceptive, you won't find any sympathy from city council members who say the safety of city workers and flaggers comes first.
"It is so, so important," said Coun. Bruce Grandy.
"It's someone's father or mother working on those front lines."
Drivers have to get the message to slow down and be respectful, Grandy added.
Police officers will be armed with portable radar devices and checking drivers' obedience to the direction of flag workers.
And don't count on getting much sympathy during the two-week educational phase.
"The officers, if they choose to do so, can still issue a prosecution ticket," said Insp. Gary Forward, who's in charge of the patrol response division in Fredericton.
After two weeks of education, it will be zero tolerance for the rest of the summer if you decide to speed through or disrespect a construction zone.
And unlike school zones, which allow different speeds at different times of the day, you can be fined for speeding at any time in a construction zone, even if workers aren't
there.
Forward said provincial law has changed and police officers have the discretion to fine you $336, or double the old fine, if you speed in a school or construction zone.
If you drive 25 kilometres per hour or more over the speed limit in a school or construction zone, you can be fined $576. If you speed more than 50 kilometres per hour through a school or construction zone, write a cheque for $1,200.
"In a construction (zone), or a school zone for that matter, if someone is coming through at 60 kilometres (per hour) and it was a posted 50 (kilometres per hour), anything over the posted speed limit ... the officer has the option of issuing that double-fine," Forward said.
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Comments (15)
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I wish they (Police) were as concerned about children and pedestrians on sidewalk-less side streets as they are about construction workers...
As for the 1,200 dollar fine be lucky thats all your getting if you are going 30km/h over the speed limit that is considered dangerous driving which could result in jail time but we do live in New Brunswick so you would probably only get grounded for a month and be on probabtion for a few LOL
If you are doing 50 above posted limit, in a construction zone (many times that would mean doing 100 km/h in a posted 50 km/h zone), you DESERVE a HUGE fine for that. You are seriously risking lives doing that.
Re-read the article, anon@7:04. You only get the $1,200 fine when you are driving in a blatantly reckless way. You don't get $1,200 fine for doing 60 in a 50 zone.
To anon@8:05, last year the Fredericton police did a huge multi-week thing like this for school zones. And the fines were double there, as well. It involved both officers physically present (morning and afternoon) in multiple locations, and those big "you are going XXX speed" radar signs. Personally, I think they should spend some cash and get more of those cool digital signs.
To Darren M
I live just beside Preistman Street school and you never see police setting there. What you do see is lots of people driving over 50km/h.