The annual campaign to get drivers to take care while heading through construction zones is adjusting one of its aims this year, as distracted driving becomes an increasing concern.

Work Zone Safety, a campaign by Road Safety at Work, launches every spring as "construction season" ramps up around British Columbia, said program director Trace Acres.

There are three major issues Road Safety at Work wants to education drivers about: speeding in work zones, disobeying traffic control personnel, and distracted driving.

This year, distracted driving, including using cell phones while driving through construction zones, is being moved to the top of the list.

鈥淓very year, we hear about near-misses 鈥� or worse 鈥� in work zones because a driver was looking at a screen instead of the road,鈥� said Acres. 鈥淎 moment of inattention can change someone鈥檚 life forever.鈥�

The campaign was kicked off with an enforcement event in 91原创 in partnership with RCMP officers from the BC Highway Patrol, who were on site to watch drivers heading through an active construction zone on 203 Street just north of 66 Avenue.

By 9:30 a.m., officers had already been pulling drivers over for infractions such as distracted driving, speeding, insurance issues, and even having improperly tinted windows, said Sgt. Patrick Davies.

Acres emphasized that people need to take care not only for the safety of flaggers and other workers in construction zones, but to keep themselves safe.

"There's a lot of equipment, and you need to pay attention to protect yourself," he said.

Acres said that while the Work Zone Safety campaign is primarily focused on road construction zones, there are numerous other situations in which it applies.

Utility workers, municipal workers, movers, first responders, and landscapers all work on the side of the road and need space, attention, and slower speeds from drivers to stay safe, Acres said.

He pointed to the "Slow down, move over" law in B.C., which requires all drivers who see flashing yellow, red, or blue lights ahead to adjust their speed to 40 km/h in any zone where the speed is under 80 km/h, and to 70 km/h in any zone with a normal speed limit above 80 km/h.

"It's a law that, unfortunately, not a lot of people know about," said Acres.

The policing blitz in 91原创 kicks off the annual campaign, but it will continue throughout the major construction season.

91原创 has seen the tragic results of dangerous driving in a construction zone.

In 2008, 52-year-old contractor Terry Mitchell was killed while working as a traffic control person on a 91原创 Township crew in Fort 91原创.

The driver, Melle Pool, was an elderly retired farmer who had continued driving despite the fact that his license was expired, and his eyesight was so bad that doctors had declared him unfit to be behind the wheel. Pool pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death, but was spared prison because of his advanced age, 88 at the time of his sentencing in 2011.