Why speeding through an active work zone on PA roads may cost you $$

Drivers traveling through active work zones along some state highways and the Pennsylvania Turnpike can expect to see more "Speed Limit Photo Enforced" signs, and choosing to disregard those signs may lead to hefty fines.

On Dec. 14, the Work Zone Speed Safety Cameras (WZSSC) program was signed into law under Act 38 of 2023, making a five-year pilot program that used cameras to help enforce speed limits in active road work zones a permanent part of Pennsylvania law.

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What does the WZSSC program do?

Under the WZSSC program, a camera takes a photograph of the license plate of a vehicle traveling 11 mph or more above the posted speed limit in an active work zone where WZSSC signs are posted. A notice is then mailed to the registered owner of that vehicle, specifying either a warning (for the first violation) or a fine, which is $75 for the vehicle’s second violation and $150 for the third and each subsequent violation. More details are available at the safety program's website, workzonecameras.penndot.gov.

The safety program is managed through PennDOT, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission and the Pennsylvania State Police.

Why the pilot program became law

The goal is to influence driver behavior by getting them to slow down and pay attention in active work zones, regardless if the work zone is located behind a set of cones, barrels or even a barrier, according to the WZSSC program website.

A list of locations where WZSSC signs and cameras are (or were) in use around the state is also posted at the website, under the Locations tab. In Somerset County, the currently active WZSSC units are located along the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

Since 2020, when the pilot program started, work zone crashes in Pennsylvania have decreased each year, from about 1,800 in 2019 to 1,649 in 2021 and 1,293 in 2022, according to the program's 2024 annual report.

However, the percentage of crashes related to speeding in work zones has increased since 2019, as has the number of crashes related to work zone intrusions, where a vehicle travels into an area where workers are working, according to statistics from the PennDOT District 9 office.

In the 2021 construction season, 99 vehicle crashes related to work zone intrusion were reported statewide; in the 2022 season, there were 143 vehicle crashes and in the 2023 season, 154 vehicle crashes were reported statewide. Some of those crashes also injured PennDOT employees or outside contractors.

And on April 17, three men employed by CriLon Corp. of Somerset, a contractor hired by PennDOT’s District 8 office to do road maintenance on Interstate 83 in York County, were killed when the driver of a box truck crashed into an active work zone and struck the three workers.

What happened: Road workers killed on York roadway were employees of Somerset-based construction company

'There's nothing more important to us'

PennDOT District 9 Executive Vince Greenland said at an April 18 outreach meeting in Somerset that the department is “elated” that WZSSC has become law.

“The overall intent is not to ticket people; it’s really to change behavior, get people to slow down to avoid the incident that happened (in York) and ultimately to save worker and traveler lives. There’s nothing more important to us than to make sure that our workforce gets home every night and be with their families. Whether you’re working for the department, working for a consultant or working for a contractor or vendor, we need to be safe. We can’t stress it enough.

“In our region, we’re going to utilize this (WZSSC) everywhere we can. I would say any four-lane facility where we have a construction project, you’ll see us utilize this technology.”

'Be Safe PA' campaign

PennDOT is also reinforcing the message of driving safely with a 'Be Safe PA' marketing campaign, encouraging drivers to follow posted speed limits, buckle their seat belts, to not drink and drive and to avoid distractions like cell phones while driving.

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“For us, anybody that’s on the road, we want to make sure they’re safe. They’re all part of our team, we need them, and they obviously have families,” Greenland said. “It’s a dangerous profession ... and it's to our best benefit that we obviously keep them as safe as possible, so we can obviously do the work, protect them and continue to have a good workforce to do the things we need.

“It’s an issue that is everywhere, and just the little things we can do (like) the marketing campaign to try to curb driver behavior. That crash (in York) could have been avoided and so with these types of issues, they can all be avoided.

“That’s why the speed cameras are so important to us – not to give somebody a ticket, or (for more) revenue, it’s to slow down and pay attention to what you’re doing when you’re entering that type of an environment.”

Maryland and Illinois already operate similar speed safety enforcement programs, and six other states are following Pennsylvania’s model in developing their own work zone safety enforcement programs (Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, New York, Virginia and Washington).

Beth Ann Miller is a staff writer for the Daily American; she can be contacted at bethm@dailyamerican.com.

This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Work Zone Speed Safety Cameras program becomes law in PA to make work zones safer