Drivers in work zones have heavy foot
While most people were sheltered in their homes during the coronavirus pandemic, more than 23,000 motorists were cited by cameras for speeding in PennDOT construction zones on Interstate 78 and Route 61 in northern Berks County.
Ten days after PennDOT started the automated ticketing in in construction zones in early March, the department halted the project amid mitigation efforts to help prevent the spread of the virus.
Two weeks later, the camera speeding ticket project resumed when PennDOT restarted only emergency projects, including work on an 8.3-mile stretch of Route 78 from Hamburg to Lenhartsville.
Before the pandemic, daily travel on that stretch of the interstate registered 41,000 vehicles, including more than 13,600 trucks, PennDOT said.
On June 15, a project to upgrade the intersection of I-78 and Route 61 at the interchange in Tilden Township restarted.
As of Thursday, state police in Berks work zones had issued 20,240 warning citations and more than 2,700 tickets for second and subsequent violations, which carry a fine, said Jennifer Kuntch, a PennDOT spokeswoman.
The warnings and tickets issued in Berks account for more than half of the 40,000 issued in Pennsylvania.
Of the 40,000 warnings and tickets in Pennsylvania, 90% were warnings and 10% were for second or subsequent violations requiring a fine.
The program deploys cameras in work zones on state highways and the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
The vehicle-mounted system records speeds in the work zones. Warning notices about the camera tickets are posted on the highway before the work zone.
Digital message boards on highways throughout the state have warned motorists of the enforcement project.
A first violation at 11 mph or more over the work zone speed limit results in a warning.
A second violation carries a $75 fine, and there is a $150 fine for the third offense. The violations are civil penalties and will not result in points being added to a driver’s license.
PennDOT’s website provides a weekly list of where the speed cameras are deployed. There were no cameras deployed on Berks highways this week.
Officials said the project was implemented to reduce speed and save lives on highways.
In 2018, there were 1,804 work zone crashes in Pennsylvania, resulting in 23 fatalities and 43 injuries.
While there have not been any fatal accidents involving construction workers since the I-78 upgrade started in 2015, workers are always at risk, state officials said.
Rick Short, co-founder of an anti-camera group, StopRoboCops.com, based in Cherry Hill, N.J., said the camera program in Pennsylvania will not likely work, noting it was dropped in New Jersey.
For more information on the enforcement program and a list of projects where the units are deployed, visit workzonecameras.penndot.gov.