Dive Brief:

• New York officials are putting the brakes on drivers who zoom through construction highway work zones with new speed monitoring systems at 30 sites throughout the state.
• The program will ticket drivers who violate the posted speed limit in a work zone by more than an established threshold via the vehicle's registered owner, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Monday. Fines are $50 for the first violation, $75 for the second violation and $100 for third and subsequent violations within 18 months of the first violation.
• The crackdown, which is part of the state’s observance of National Work Zone Awareness Week, will utilize billboard and radio advertisements, Waze notifications and more to highlight construction worker safety.

Dive Insight:

New York has experienced a rising number of work zone violations in recent years, resulting in numerous highway worker injuries and several deaths, the release said, but work zone accidents are a problem that reaches far beyond the Empire State.

In fact, last year’s Work Zone Awareness Survey by the Associated General Contractors of America found that 64% of firms nationwide working on highway upgrades experienced car crashes over a 12-month period, and 32% of respondents had five or more motor vehicle crashes at their highway work zone in the previous 12 months. 

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act may exacerbate the issue, as it provides $110 billion in funding for roads and bridges. More people will work at risk in these treacherous environments.

Speed cameras and related fines are said to be one of the best ways to reduce work zone traffic accidents. For instance, officials in Pennsylvania have said they believe the use of cameras to enforce speeds in work zones has helped to keep workers safe.

Other jurisdictions like Connecticut and Washington state are also rolling out similar initiatives to catch speeding motorists in highway work zone areas.

The New York program is one way to help keep highway construction workers safe, according to Associated General Contractors of New York State President and CEO Mike Elmendorf.

"The men and women working out there on roadways across New York are doing it for our safety — and every New Yorker owes it to them to keep them safe as they do that important work,” he said in the release. “They are out there working in often dangerous conditions to make sure we all get home safely to our families; it is the obligation of all motorists to make sure every one of them gets home safely to theirs.”