The Republican-controlled Senate voted 31-17 Monday to approve House Bill 1015 authorizing the Indiana Department of Transportation and state police to establish a “pilot program” for deploying work-zone speed-enforcement cameras at four sites.

This pilot program places up to four electronic license plate readers in active construction sites, monitoring for drivers exceeding posted work site speed limits by at least 11 miles per hour. First-time offenders will be mailed a warning, with second-time violators receiving fines of 75 dollars.

Indiana supporters of this measure claim that automated speed-enforcement cameras will prompt motorist to slow down in work zones and thereby reduce the number of injuries and deaths associated with such crashes. This Indiana bill is modeled on a Pennsylvania law that has since reduced both of these. In 2022, the program issued 444,827 violations. Of the issued notices, 82,567 (18.6%) were repeat violators, incurring fines for 2nd and subsequent violations of the statue. (1) From that statistic we can see that it is way too often that motorist are speeding in work zones. This program will bring awareness to our Indiana drivers to slow down and take work zone speed limits seriously.

“This bill has a great potential to save lives,” said Sen. Blake Doriot, R-Goshen. “I’ve worked on these road jobs. I’ve watched cars speed through at 20 to 30 mph over the limit when you’re standing only 10 feet away, and sometimes the only thing separating you (from the cars) is an orange barrel.” (2)

We are proud to have played a role in shepherding this bill over the finish line- thank you to all of those at HC+M who took time out to come down to the state house to speak to legislators with us about this important piece of legislation.

We look forward to seeing how this program can help keep our road crews and Indiana motorist safer than ever before. Stay tuned for updates as the bill moves to Governor, Eric Holcomb, for signing.

5/1/2023- Update

We are pleased to announce that on May 1st, 2023 Governor Eric Holcomb signed the bill, officially making it law. This bill will lead to a safer work environment for many construction workers around the state. It has the potential to save lives. Thank you to all member of the Heritage Group that have spent countless hours advocating for this bill to become law, Indiana Legislature for creating the bill, and Governor Eric Holcomb for signing into law.

From left: The Heritage Group Director of Government Affairs Lindsay Lux; Sen. John Ford; Milestone General Superintendent Chad Scott; Milestone Chief Operating Officer CJ Potts

Governor Eric Holcomb signs House Bill 1015 alongside Rep. Jim Pressel (left) and Sen. John Ford (right).

Sources:

1. https://workzonecameras.penndot.gov/
2. Indiana Senate OKs speed camera enforcement in highway work zones (nwitimes.com)
3. Worksite Safety Bill Signed into Law – Asphalt Materials, Inc. (asphalt-materials.com)