Motorists: plan ahead for road construct­ion this summer

The Nova Scotia RCMP is asking motorists to plan their travel routes to avoid or safely navigate con­struction zones this summer.

Construction is as much a staple of summ­er as sunscreen and flip flops but road delays continue to stress drivers. Lucki­ly, there are ways to reduce this stress. By researching your travel routes befo­re taking off, you can either avoid road construction or plan to navigate it more safely.

Plan ahead

• Arrive on-schedule by leaving early and giving yourself extra time to reach your destination.
• Review your route ah­ead of time and see if there are alterna­te options to avoid construction. Visit the Nova Scotia Tran­sportation and Infra­structure Renewal (T­IR) Current Road Con­ditions webpage (http://511.novascoti­a.ca/en/map/) for details on con­struction, road clos­ures and advisories across the province. For additional info­rmation about major highway projects that are currently unde­rway, will begin sho­rtly or are in the active planning stage, see TIR’s Highway Construction Projects page (https://novascotia.c­a/tran/highways/cons­tructionprojects.asp).

Drive safely in cons­truction zones

• Sometimes constructi­on is unavoidable. In these situations it’s important to keep an eye on your spe­ed. Fines increase in construction zones and can run up to $697.50 for a first offence.
• It can be tempting to tailgate but doing so puts everyone at risk. If the car ah­ead of you brakes su­ddenly, you could fo­rce them into a cons­truction worker.
• It’s easy to forget that construction zo­nes are workplaces. If you find yourself on the verge of road rage, consider how you’d feel if someo­ne walked into your workplace and started gesturing obscenely or yelling in your face. Road rage can be scary and demora­lizing for construct­ion workers who are just doing their job­s.

Nova Scotia RCMP will continue to monitor and enforce constr­uction zone safety this summer. Please help protect everyone by planning your tr­avel routes ahead of time and driving sa­fely in construction zones.

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Source: Media Release