Fredericton police asking drivers to slow down

The Fredericton Police Force wants drivers to slow down and be patient with the road construction in the city. The force has been posting on their Facebook page, asking people to slow down and use caution. 

Greg Ollson, supervisor at the construction site on Regent Street says he has seen a lot of people breaking the rules of the road. 

"People don't use their signal lights so we have no idea where they are going," said Ollson. 

"People just stop in the middle for no reason at all. Some don't watch the flaggers. They don't obey the stop signs or the slow signs. They try to weasel around our pylons."

Ollson said they've even had cases of people taking pylons and moving them over night. He says they have a pile of about 25 damaged pylons from people trying to get by.

But he said the biggest problem is people just aren't paying attention. 

"They're just blind to the fact that they're driving I guess," said Ollson. "I don't know how some of them got their license. I really don't know."

Use detours, with caution

Ollson said people should be avoiding Regent Street and taking detours. That has many people taking Smythe Street and using the roundabout there, but that's causing other problems. 

The Fredericton Police Force reported four accidents in one day at the Smythe and Prospect Street intersection, three of those happening in the same hour. 

Const. Steven Cliff is a member of the Traffic Safety Section of the police force. He said people need to stop rushing, whether it's toward a yellow light, or turning into the roundabout.

"A yellow light does not mean to accelerate through. A yellow means prepare to stop," said Cliff. "The motor vehicle act stipulates that you can be charged for running that yellow light."

Cliff says that people need to change their mindset when it comes to driving, especially with backed up traffic. 

"How would you feel if your rushed up life caused the death of a child?" asked Cliff. 

"They have to step back and say okay, I'm not going to rush today because I don't want to cause an accident. I don't want to hurt somebody else. I don't want to hurt myself."