New York will soon install cameras in road work zones that will monitor drivers to make sure they’re not speeding.
If they are, the camera alone could result in a ticket.
Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill authorizing the cameras earlier this month. For now, it’s just a pilot program that will determine how automatic speeding tickets work in work zones and whether stronger enforcement cuts down on injuries and deaths.
The program will also gather data on how much money the cameras save on labor costs compared with speeding enforcement by police.
In New York there were 3,450 accidents in work zones on highways between 2010 and 2016, according to the bill. Fifty people died and over 1,100 workers and motorists were hurt.
The bill noted that speed cameras in other states have helped reduce accidents. Maryland started using them in 2010 and driver speeds dropped 10%.
The state also saw a 59% drop in the likelihood of a someone driving faster than 10 mph over the speed limit. That resulted in a 39% decrease in the likelihood of an accident leading to an injury that incapacitated someone and a 45% drop in the number of deaths from work zone-related crashes.
Assemblyman Bill Magnarelli, R-Syracuse, sponsored the bill.
“The safety of workers on our roads is extremely important,” Magnarelli said in a press release when Hochul signed the bill. “Creating a system of cameras to record speed violations in work zones is one step of protecting these workers. Speed and distractions are deadly. Using photo monitoring devices identifies those who break the law and put our highway workers in jeopardy.”
The New York State Thruway Authority is holding a virtual public hearing on the camera plan from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday Oct. 6. If you want to participate, you can get the link on the Thruway Authority’s website 15 minutes before the meeting begins.
You can also email comments to WorkZoneSpeedViolation@thruway.ny.gov or mail them to the authority at New York State Thruway Authority Work Zone Speed Violation Monitoring System Program c/o Legal Department 200 Southern Blvd. P.O. Box 189 Albany, NY 12201-0189.
You can read the full bill online.
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