Editorial — Smile for the camera: Drivers speeding through state work zones will be penalized

“For the first 30 days, speeding drivers will get a warning. After that, they will be fined, state officials said. The first violation will cost $50. The second costs $75. Three or more violations within 18 months of the first one will cost $100,” according to a story published April 18 by The Post-Standard in Syracuse. “New York state residents will receive a notice in the mail within 14 days of the violation. Out-of-state drivers will get a notice within 45 days. Drivers who don’t pay the fines will have trouble renewing their registrations. Drivers get 30 days after receiving the notice to fight the violation. Work zones with automated speed enforcement have signs leading up to them. The system uses radar to identify speeding vehicles. That triggers cameras to take a series of images, including two photos of the back of the vehicle. The technology also collects the time, date, posted speed, vehicle speed, location, lane and direction of travel. The state signed a contract with Verra Mobility to handle the program.”

In September 2021, Gov. Kathleen C. Hochul signed the Automated Work Zone Speed Enforcement measure. This created the system now being used to identify motorists who speed through work zones on state highways.

“During 2021, there were 378 work zone intrusions on New York state roads maintained by the state Department of Transportation and Thruway Authority. A work zone intrusion is defined as an incident where a motor vehicle has entered a portion of the roadway that is closed due to construction or maintenance activity. More than 50 of those intrusions resulted in injuries to either a highway worker or vehicle occupant,” according to information on the state website outlining laws pertaining to work zones. “The Automated Work Zone Speed Enforcement program is the result of legislation signed into law by Gov. Hochul in September 2021. This five-year program is a joint effort by NYSDOT and the NYSTA to enhance the state’s ongoing efforts to slow motorists down in work zones to make our highways safer.”

Some drivers aren’t thrilled with the new program.

“Long Island drivers had only bad things to say about the new construction zone speed cameras, calling the state’s new rollout a ‘money grab’ grounded in ‘excessive’ oversight,” an article published April 21 by the New York Post reported. “Based on a law signed … by Gov. Kathy Hochul, the violation-monitoring systems poised on white state-issued Jeep Grand Cherokees will trigger tickets for drivers going as little as 10 miles over the speed limit, Newsday reported.”

We appreciate the sentiments of New Yorkers who believe the state is going overboard with this program. But safety comes first when traveling on the roadways, and motorists must respect work zone laws.

This is a sensible measure to hold drivers accountable for how they travel through work zones. However, authorities should guard against expanding this system to calculate how fast motorists are driving between E-ZPass tolls to determine who’s speeding along the Thruway and issuing tickets.

That being said, this new method should help work protect crews. Drivers need to slow down and be mindful of the people who are improving our highways.