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Tonya Papanikolas ReportingWatch if you're driving near a construction zone today. The Utah Highway Patrol is trying to crack down on speeding and they have a lot of troopers out on the roads.
Whether you're in Utah County or Salt Lake County you better slow down in work zones. Today you could very well be caught and cited, but officers say safe driving is something you should be aware of every day.
This morning highway patrol men and women were briefed on the crackdown and then they took off. UHP is using 20 motorcycles and 20 patrol cars working both Salt Lake and Utah Counties. They're looking for aggressive drivers and speeding. They're paying close attention to the construction zone on I-15 near Draper, at the Point of the Mountain.
Randy Park, UDOT Region Two Director: "Unfortunately we see speeds in the excess of 70 mph in the I-15 project work zone right now, with the posted speed limit being 55 mph. We'd like to encourage everybody to drive safely, slow down."
UDOT is also helping with the crackdown. They say safety is their number one concern for construction workers near traffic and for drivers. They say four out of every five fatalities that occur in work zones impacts the driver and their passengers.
The most common accidents are rear-end collisions. Troopers say if you can avoid work zones while you're driving, do. And if not, allow yourself extra time to get where you're going.
Keep in mind there are 41 troopers out today and they're not all near the Point of the Mountain. They're spreading out and hoping to pull aggressive drivers off the road.
They're not just out today either. Extra troopers will be working this area near Draper until the project is finished.
