FEATURE
Building
a Safer
Saskatchewan
After a near-fatal experience while
working on a road construction
site 15 years ago, Carla Minogue
has a new perspective on safety
By Martin Charlton Communications
Fifteen years have passed, and Carla Minogue still feels
there’s a need to share her story.
She knows she’s fortunate to have that voice. Others
who were in her shoes don’t have the opportunity.
May 26, 2004 is a day Minogue will never forget. She was barely two
weeks on the job as a labourer for a road construction crew working
west of Calgary on Highway 1 near Canmore.
It was supposed to be ideal summer employment for Minogue,
who was about to enter her second year of broadcasting school at
Mount Royal University. (Carla Beynon – Minogue is her married
name – worked at CTV Regina as host of the 6 o’clock news nearly
10 years ago.)
Flagging vehicles and sealing cracks isn’t the most glamourous
of seasonal jobs, but Minogue was excited to earn a good wage and
spend most workdays under the sun.
Unfortunately, her enthusiasm abruptly ended.
* * *
It’s that time of year again when road and highway construction
and repair is nearing or at full capacity. For Minogue, it’s as good a
time as any to have her story heard and to get through to drivers who
ignore the reduced speed limit signs in work zones.
It was the end of the day and Minogue was helping pick up orange
cones that outlined her crew’s work zone. A steady stream of vehicles
whizzing past just a few feet from her in the next lane, Minogue was
walking the cones to a truck parked just up the highway.
“I remember a semitrailer driving by,” said Minogue. “Whenever
they drive by, even if they’re going the speed limit, they always gave
you a bit of a rush and would blow you a little bit.
“I just blacked out after that.”
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