OLYMPIA – Washington transportation leaders are taking a bold step to protect road construction workers and drivers as the first Work Zone Speed Camera begins enforcement Wednesday, April 16, near Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
The trailer-mounted camera photographs vehicles speeding through active work zones. The Washington State Department of Transportation will rotate the camera between construction, maintenance and emergency projects where speeding is an issue. This safety tool aims to protect workers and the traveling public by encouraging drivers to follow work zone speed limits and reducing the number of speed-related crashes. The first site was selected because of ongoing safety concerns with people speeding through that Interstate 5 work zone.
Signs will notify drivers when the camera is at a job site and when possible, a radar feedback sign will accompany the camera to remind drivers to slow down. The program will expand with two more cameras this spring and three more by summer.
“Too many workers have been injured or killed, and statistics show drivers are not slowing down,” said Secretary of Transportation Julie Meredith. “This provides another tool to help ensure workers – and everyone on the roadway – comes home safe at the end of the day.”
Program and enforcement details
The cameras will only record infractions when workers are present on a job site. Work can take place day or night, so drivers should assume there are workers in all work zones, particularly if they are in the area where they see a sign notifying them about a camera ahead.
After the camera detects a speeding vehicle, information will be forwarded to the Washington State Patrol. The photos do not include images of drivers. Troopers will determine if a violation was committed and, if so, issue an infraction. The vehicle’s registered owner will receive the infraction in the mail and can contest it, ask for a reduction or request a payment plan.
When someone receives a notice of infraction, they will be directed to the program’s website to acknowledge the incident. There is no fine for the first work zone speed camera infraction; the second and every infraction after that is $248. The vehicle’s registered owner must respond to the notice of infraction online or through the mail, even if it carries no financial penalty. The infractions are recorded as non-moving violations and do not affect driving records or insurance. Unpaid fines will be added to vehicle registration renewals.
The state Office of Administrative Hearings will oversee appeals for infractions. After people appeal, they can submit supporting evidence such as photographs or other documents for the judge to consider. Depending on the reason for the appeal, they will have either a brief adjudicative proceeding, which involves only documents, or a formal adjudicative hearing, where they can also provide testimony over the phone to a judge.
Legislative, agency and industry partnerships
The cameras result from partnerships and support by the state Legislature, several state agencies, law enforcement and union and industry groups. Legislation for the cameras took effect July 1, 2023, with an Amendment bill passed the following year.
The money received from fines will pay for the program’s costs and any extra money will support WSP DUI and safety programs. The program runs through 2030 unless extended by the Legislature.
Proven safety tool
Through scanning light detection and ranging, called LiDAR, the camera detects vehicles traveling faster than the posted speed limit and takes images of the vehicle, its license plate and related information (e.g., speed limit, a vehicle’s recorded speed, location, date, time, etc.). Work zone speed camera vendor Elovate works with other states on similar programs, including Maryland and Indiana.
Since 2020, Washington has averaged 1,345 work zone crashes every year. Meredith said the goal of the safety program is to reduce speeding, not issue tickets.
“We would be ecstatic if these cameras never resulted in infractions,” she said, “because that would mean drivers instead changed their behavior.”
This program is separate from the recently launched Highway Speed Camera Program, which is currently underway on I-5 and I-90 in Skagit and Spokane counties.
As a Traffic Control Flagger, I am very excited about this program. That being said, I believe that it is just one small step in what needs to be a much bigger plan. I believe the State needs to pass laws making mandatory speed restrictions for all work zones, much like they have for school zones. As the last stands now, contractors are required to apply for special permitting to reduce the speeds in their work zones. Since this is an additional cost of doing business , most companies rely on the fact that drivers will slow down. Having done this job for nearly 15 years, I can tell you that this is not what is happening. Many times, motorist either ignore the warning signs or, they are exceeding the posted speed limit prior to reaching the work zone and only slow down to the posted speed limit while passing through the job site.A mandatory speed reduction law would go a very long way towards preventing future incidents resulting in injury and/or death.