Are you cautious, courteous driving through an orange zone?
HJR Asphalt's Safety Officer Jolene Rogers asks drivers to be 'cautious and courteous'
Twenty-one-year-old Sam Fetherston has a long recovery ahead of him.
He broke several bones, was placed in a medically induced coma and suffered brain damage after he was struck in a deadly collision in the highway construction zone he was working in.
Fetherston now faces surgery and months of painful rehabilitation.
Jolene Rogers, HJR Asphalt's safety officer, said it is up to drivers to make sure such tragedies never happen to anyone else.
In August 2012, 18-year-old Ashley Richards died during her first day on the job as a flag person on a construction site near Midale, Sask.
The pregnant teen had moved to the province to start a new life with her boyfriend. At the time, both were employed by Saskatoon construction company HJR Asphalt.
Rogers has worked for the company for 16 years, since she was a teen. She too started as a flag person with a road crew.
"Ever since we had the fatality in 2012, with Ashley, we have aggressively been trying to notify the public and bring awareness that we need their co-operation," Rogers said.
Rogers said HRJ's flag workers are put through extensive training, which includes planning an escape route off the road before ever getting on it, never turning their back to oncoming traffic, and never crossing the centre line.
HJR's owner, Reg Willick, said his company has gone above and beyond when it comes to required safety training and he wants to see government ramp up enforcement.
By law, Saskatchewan drivers must slow to 60 km/h when passing highway workers, within signed work zones or when passing equipment with its amber warning lights on.
According to the Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure, "significant changes have been made to improve safety in work zones, like simplified signage, rumble strips and photo enforcement".