Legislation currently before the Michigan House Judiciary Committee would allow traffic cameras to be placed in construction zones on state roads. Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association VP of Government Affairs Lance Binoniemi tells WSJM News speed cameras work in other states.
“We have seen in those other states – we studied Pennsylvania specifically – a significant reduction in speed within those work zones, and a significant reduction in repeat offenders,” Binoniemi said.
Binoniemi’s group represents many of the companies that work on road projects in Michigan, and he tells us they’ve lost employees due to speeding in construction zones.
“We had 14 individuals who were killed in work zones in 2020 alone, despite our lower volume of traffic. So, we’ve seen an increase in those crashes throughout the past five years and really think this is a way to get the motoring public to pay more attention.”
Binoniemi says traffic cameras need to be coupled with transparency, like signs that tell drivers where the cameras are. He also notes the legislation from state Representative Gary Eisen would allow for appeals in case a driver is mistakenly ticketed.
