An effort to slow drivers down in work zones seems to be working.
The Department of Transportation aimed to help slow down drivers in work zones by rolling out the Know the Zone: Speed Safety Camera Program in April.
And it’s now about halfway through the pilot program, with cameras mounted to SUVs active at several work zones including East Hartford, Norwalk, East Lyme and Middletown.
“It feels a little bit slower than I have seen in the past which is good. Those workers are out there and doing a lot of dangerous work. So having speed cameras I believe is helping a little,” said Claude McIntyre of Middletown.
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Since April, the DOT tells us the cameras captured 9,000 people going at least 15 miles an hour over the speed limit and then they were mailed a warning.
Only one person received a citation after being caught a second time.
“The fact there was only one citation is proof people are getting the message,” said Josh Morgan, CTDOT spokesperson.
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Still the DOT reports as many as 15% of drivers are going over the posted speed limit. Though at some sites, early data has shown at least some reduction in speeds.
“Hopefully the success of this pilot program, the Work Zone Speed Camera Program, will lead to it being a permanent fixture in Connecticut. Because we want to slow people down. We want to reduce the number of crashes we’re seeing in work zones and we want to save people’s lives,” Morgan said.
The DOT points out this not a gotcha effort. Signs alert drivers to the upcoming cameras, whose locations are also posted on the DOT website.
The first citation is $75 and jumps to $150 with each following one. The pilot program is scheduled to run through the end of the year and then the future of cameras is up for debate.
