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INDOT launches Safe Zones pilot program to improve work zone safety

Thursday, July 25, 2024 at 11:34 AM

By Staff report

Indiana Safe Zones is a five-year worksite speed control pilot program.

A new program to safeguard workers and drivers in construction zones will get its first test in Hancock County.

To protect the lives of motorists and construction workers across the Hoosier State, INDOT announces the official launch of Indiana Safe Zones, a five-year worksite speed control pilot program authorized by House Enrolled Act 1015 during the 2023 legislative session.

Starting Wednesday, Aug. 14, camera technology will be deployed in the current I-70 construction zone in Hancock County (MM 95-105).  Deployment will start with a pre-enforcement warning period during which no violations will be issued, but courtesy warnings will be sent. Additional worksites will be added to the program over time. By statute, INDOT may deploy cameras in up to four sites at any given time.  

"The goal of the Safe Zones program is to slow drivers down, reduce crashes, and most importantly, save lives,” said INDOT Commissioner Mike Smith. “Speed continues to be a factor in work zone crashes and changing driver behavior is crucial to making work zones safer for drivers and road workers. For everyone’s safety, I urge drivers to wear their seat belts, avoid distractions and follow the posted speed limit.”

Over the past decade, 269 people have been killed in crashes in highway worksites or in worksite backups in Indiana. In 2023 alone, 33 people were killed and more than 1,750 were injured in INDOT work zones. Four out of five people killed in work zones are either drivers or their passengers.

Here’s how Indiana Safe Zones will work:

  • Signs will be posted as motorists enter and exit worksites notifying them that speed limits are being monitored by an automated system.
  • The system will monitor the speed of vehicles using speed timing devices as they pass through the work zone. When a vehicle is determined to be traveling 11 mph or more above the posted speed limit, the system will capture an image of the vehicle’s rear license plate. After the data is validated, violations will be certified and issued to the owner of the vehicle by mail.
  • The pilot program will begin with a pre-enforcement period, during which drivers will receive courtesy notices but will not be fined.
  • After the pre-enforcement period ends, the first violation will result in a zero-fine warning, the second in a $75 civil penalty, and every violation thereafter a penalty of $150. In accordance with the statute, collected penalties will go into the state’s General Fund. 
  • Workers must be present at the site at the time of the event for violations to be valid.

Similar programs in other states have significantly improved work zone safety. Two years after Maryland launched its program, speeding violations in construction sites fell by more than 80% and incidence of worksite-related crashes, fatalities and injuries were at their lowest in more than 10 years. In the first year that Pennsylvania began continuously enforcing its program, it saw a more than 19% drop in worksite crashes.

Data collected by Indiana Safe Zones will be used strictly for this program, and will not be used for surveillance or other law enforcement purposes. The Indiana Department of Transportation will share annual reports throughout the five-year pilot program with members of the Indiana General Assembly and the traveling public.

To learn more about Indiana Safe Zones, including active locations and answers to frequently asked questions, visit SafeZonesIN.com.

 

 

 

 

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