The strategic placement of speed-monitoring cameras along Pennsylvania highways helped to reduce speeding and crashes in work zones over the course of a five-year pilot program by PennDOT and the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission.
Now, officials are rebooting speed enforcement with the cameras on a permanent basis with a goal of making work zones even safer for road workers and motorists alike.
“Data from the pilot program shows it was successful, and we’re pleased that it’s now a permanent program in Pennsylvania,” said PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll.
Under the program, work zones are marked and equipped with speed safety cameras that detect and record drivers exceeding posted work zone speed limits. Camera systems are operational anytime workers are present in an active work zone.
The cameras are mounted on 17 white Jeep Cherokees deployed to work zones across the state. When construction season gets in full swing, all 17 of the SUVs will be used daily along state roads and the turnpike, according to PennDOT spokesperson Jennifer Kuntch.
Ten of the SUVs are PennDOT’s, while the other seven are the Turnpike Commission’s.
Drivers recorded traveling 11 mph or more over the posted limit will receive a warning letter after their first offense, a $75 fine for the second, and a $150 fine for the third and all subsequent offenses. The violations are civil penalties; no points will be assessed to a driver’s license.
Under the program’s 15-day “warning period,” a driver who is caught speeding will not be able to accumulate a second offense until 15 days after the first one. PennDOT officials said the warning period will allow drivers a chance to change their driving behavior.
Kuntch cautioned that drivers should not use the warning period as a license to speed at will.
“While there’s no risk of receiving a violation from the Work Zone Speed Safety Camera Program during the 15-day warning period, motorists could still receive a speeding citation from police,” she said.
After the warning period, drivers can accumulate fines as quickly as they are observed by speed cameras or police.
“The pilot program demonstrated that even the first warning initiates a behavioral change as the percent of repeat offenders was less than 17%,” said Pennsylvania Turnpike Chief Operating Officer Craig Shuey. “Additionally, the program serves as a roadway reminder that safety is literally in each driver’s hands when they are behind the wheel.”
Over the pilot program’s five years, officials said the data showed there was a 47% reduction in excessive speeding (11 mph or more over the limit) and a 50% decline in work-zone crashes where a speed enforcement vehicle was present.
In 2018, a year before the pilot program began, there were 1,805 work zone crashes across the state, according to PennDOT statistics. In 2022, there were 1,293 — a 28% drop.
“The Work Zone Speed Safety Camera program is about making work zones safer for both workers and motorists by reducing speeds and changing driver behavior,” Carroll said.
For more on the program, see WorkZoneCameras.PennDOT.gov.
Patrick Varine is a TribLive reporter covering Delmont, Export and Murrysville. He is a Western Pennsylvania native and joined the Trib in 2010 after working as a reporter and editor with the former Dover Post Co. in Delaware. He can be reached at pvarine@triblive.com.