In New York state, you don’t have to get pulled over to be fined for speeding. The violation notice could come in the mail.
In 2021, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation creating the Automated Work Zone Speed Enforcement program. It’s a five-year program designed to make work zones safer on New York state roads.
It seems to be working. Officials said 155,000 violations have been issued.
What You Need To Know
- In 2021, legislation for the Automated Work Zone Speed Enforcement program was signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul
- It's been a few years since the program's implementation and in that time, officials said 155,000 violations have been issued
- The Thruway Authority's executive director said the fines from the violations have amounted to about $3 million
“Don't speed through the construction zones. It's just dumb. People do dumb things. This is what the state does. It applies technology to stop people from doing dumb things," said Samuel Smith, a traveler.
Smith put it bluntly. Speeding, in general, especially in work zones, is dangerous and potentially deadly.
For the last few years, the state has used radar to take pictures of vehicles going equal to or faster than the posted speed limit to determine if someone is, in fact, speeding in a work zone.
If caught speeding, the registered owner of the vehicle will be identified by license plate information, a state-certified technician will review the violation and a Notice of Liability will be created and mailed to the vehicle’s registered owner. The notice can be contested.
The state reports 378 work-zone intrusions on state roads maintained by the state DOT and Thruway Authority in 2021.
“Although we've seen driver behavior change, there are some who still have not gotten the message that they need to pay attention and slow down and not be distracted," said state Thruway Authority Executive Director Frank Hoare.
“Years and years ago, I was a flagman for the state DPW, and people are not considerate. My sister was a crossing guard in Tully. People had no respect for the law," said Jim Millis, a traveler.
The first violation is a $50 fine; the second is a $75 fine if within 18 months from the first violation; and third and subsequent violations are each $100 if within 18 months from the first violation.
There are also late fees.
Drivers said they’ve noticed a difference.
“I'm coming from Rochester out here and all of a sudden, everyone slamming on their brakes. All of a sudden, they were slowing down to like 35 miles an hour. It was crazy. And I'm like, ‘What is going on?.’ And then I realized, ‘Oh, they probably got the cameras up. That's why people are being overly cautious now,'" said Lynda Sciolino, a traveler.
“There will always be speeders, do you know what I mean? So more people have slowed down for sure. In the construction zone that we went through, it was pretty close to the posted speed limit, which is good," Smith said.
Hoare said about $3 million has been generated by this program so far, and it goes back into the program.
