WASHINGTON — If you’ve got a lead foot – pay attention.
The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) will soon expand its program to catch drivers speeding through work zones, a year after launching it.
“Our goal is driver behavior. We need folks to slow down in the work zone,” said WSDOT Deputy Secretary of Transportation Mike Gribner during a news conference along I-405 in Bellevue on Thursday.
WSDOT said it can see the program’s results a year after it was implemented.
Before the program, they say an estimated 60% of drivers were speeding through work zones.
They say now, where those cameras are in use, that number dropped to around 30%
But workers say far too many drivers are still speeding, putting them in danger.
“It’s definitely a frightening experience – you tense up when you see it coming,” said Tyler Andersen, a highway maintenance supervisor, who has been hit twice on the job.
Last year, there were more than 1,500 work zone-related crashes on state highways.
“A lot of erratic driving in the work zones, near misses, people flying through the work zones – and they’re just trying to get their jobs done,” said Kyle Miller, the speed safety camera program manager.
Right now, WSDOT has six cameras that are moved around to different sites.
Over the next year, the plan is to expand to 15 cameras.
WSDOT says 65,000 infractions were issued over the program’s first year.
The vast majority were first-timers who didn’t have to pay a fine.
Starting July 1, the first infraction will cost $125. After that, each one is $248.
WSDOT says the fines are used to pay for the program which has cost nearly $4.4 million up to this point.
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