Troopers clock drivers speeding at 100 mph in construction zones

During a week when Florida Department of Transportation is stressing Work Zone Safety Awareness, Florida Highway Patrol says they're clocking drivers speeding up to 100 miles an hour past construction zones.

"Recently we've seen people 50 miles an hour plus, that's not only a court date, but an extra $1,000 on top of your ticket," said Trooper Steven Montiero, FHP Assistant Public Affairs Officer.

The national campaign for Work Zone Awareness comes less than two months after a 34-year-old SGL worker was killed on the job when a dump truck backed over him, halting work on the 21-mile I-4 Ultimate Project for several days.

This week FDOT, FHP, and SGL construction are partnering to spread the safety message. FDOT District 5 just released this video PSA showing children dressed in construction gear, shoveling dirt and hopping out of bulldozers. Those who worked on the video say their goal is to make sure every worker and driver on the road gets home safely.

"My son was one of the ones in that video, and that's who I go home to at night. So when I come out into the field, I'm coming out to look at an issue or something that's going on but I have to also be aware that there's traffic flying by at 60 miles an hour or more, right next to me, so I need to make sure that I'm going home every day," said Loreen Bobo, FDOT I-4 Ultimate project manager.

Last weekend FHP troopers and the Seminole County Sheriff's Office wrote over 1,000 citations in the Seminole County, I-4 area.

"No one is out here forcing anyone to drive the way they're driving, a driver needs to think about the choices that they're making behind the wheel, and if they want to drive safe all they have to do is drive safe," said Montiero.

Chris Dubois, the SGL area manager for Area 3 on I-4 Ultimate Project, says they will also be starting the improvements to the Fairbanks curve. Crews will begin working to flatten and straighten the curve immediately, with a schedule to finish in 2020.