Construction season is well underway, which is also a good time for reminders to motorists to help prevent traffic-related issues from happening.

Iowa State Patrol District Four Resource Officer Trooper Shelby McCreedy advises motorists to not be distracted when driving through a construction zone because the different paths a vehicle can go down can be confusing if not fully paying attention.

“Focus on that roadway because the traffic patterns change, (such as) four lane roads that are down to two (lane) are suddenly now head to head traffic, or like when referenced when there’s a lane closure in a multi-lane roadway, everybody is in the same lane, there’s merging, there’s stopping, there’s all kinds of different things that don’t necessarily normally exist on that roadway.”   

McCreedy says the other reminder for motorists is to obey the reduced speed limits that are often associated with construction areas.

“Fines double in construction zones whether there’s workers present or not. Those fines will double if you’re in a construction zone and you get a ticket for speed.” 

McCreedy adds to further reduce speed when crews are working on the side of the road in construction zones.