INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Some Indiana lawmakers want to authorize the installation of work zone speed cameras along the state’s highways to photograph speeding cars and fine the lead-footed motorists.
Members of the General Assembly’s Interim Study Committee on Transportation advanced a plan Wednesday to permit using the traffic cameras, The (Northwest Indiana) Times reported.
The panel will decide later this month whether to officially recommend that Indiana’s Republican-controlled Legislature consider making the state the sixth with work zone speed cameras.
State Rep. Chuck Moseley, a committee member who proposed a failed automated enforcement bill in the last House session, said he’s determined to get the measure passed in 2020.
“This is not a speed enforcement issue for me. This is a safety enforcement issue for me,” Moseley said.
Leaders of Indiana Constructors Inc. (ICI), a statewide construction trade group, emphasized to the committee the need for enhanced work zone safety, underscoring state records that show work zone crashes jumped to 6,370 in 2017 from 2,878 collisions in 2013.
Though the construction trade committee acknowledged Indiana has more work zones after legislators increased fuel taxes and vehicle dues in 2017 to subsidize infrastructure projects, they also noted motorists appear to be driving more recklessly because of speed and technological distractions.
“We want to get the work done, but we want to do it safely,” said Dan Brown, ICI board chairman.
