automated speed cameras in work zones may be coming to new jersey, but is now the right time?

By: othiamba n. lovelace, esq.

One of the biggest concerns our clients in the construction industry deal with on a daily basis is ensuring that their employees are safe and protected from dangerous hazards while performing their duties. Although our clients try their best to protect their employees from work zone dangers, it is nearly impossible to prevent employees that work on major highways from being in close proximity to speeding vehicles that are often being driven by distracted drivers. To protect the lives of their employees, our clients routinely work with the State and local police to ensure that there is a visible police presence on their job sites, so that passing drivers will either slow down or get pulled over. However, there are limits to how many drivers one police officer on a major highway can pull over and reprimand when there could be over a thousand cars passing by that police officer each hour.

For example, despite the best efforts of our construction workers and police officers here in New Jersey, in 2018 New Jersey had 2,492 crashes in work zones, with 556 of those crashes resulting in an injury, and six resulting in a fatality. In 2019, New Jersey had 2,248 crashes in work zones, with 501 of those crashes resulting in an injury, and seven resulting in a fatality. In 2020, despite the Covid pandemic causing less travel overall, New Jersey saw nearly twice the number of fatalities from 2018, with 11 fatalities, and 1,772 crashes in work zones, with 403 of those crashes resulting in an injury.

If passed, the Speed Camera Program would create a 36-month pilot program that would apply to the New Jersey Turnpike Authority and South Jersey Transportation Authority. To ensure that the test program runs smoothly, the speed cameras will be installed and operated by trained work zone speed control system operators (“Speed Camera Operators”). These Speed Camera Operators will receive training directly from the manufacturer of the speed camera being used so that they are familiar with how the system works, how to set it up, and how to test it for accuracy. This training will also be certified in writing because the results of the speed cameras will be used in court as proof that a speeding violation has occurred.

As currently drafted, the law would give New Jersey some flexibility as to how the speed cameras will work, but they all must be capable of producing recorded images of motor vehicles traveling at speeds typically travelled on New Jersey’s major highways. Also, in an effort to prevent surprise and confusion amongst motorist, the law would require the New Jersey Department of Transportation to conduct a public information and education campaign to educate drivers about the pilot program’s photographic enforcement of active work zone speed limits and to encourage drivers to strictly obey speed limits in road construction work zones, facilitating the flow of traffic and protecting the safety and well-being of motor vehicle occupants, pedestrians, and workers.

The proposed law will likely prove to be a strong deterrent for drivers that habitually speed in construction work zones because the penalties escalate for repeat offenders. Specifically, drivers caught speeding one time will get a written warning in the mail. The second offense will result in a $100 fine and third and subsequent offenses will result in a $200 fine. Commuters that pass work zones on a daily basis will have to seriously consider slowing down near work zones, unless they want to see their daily travel costs increase by $200 to $400 per day.

75% of the funds received through the Speed Camera Program will go to the Division of State Police, and about half of that money will be used for recruiting, training, and/or equipping State Troopers working in the construction unit of the police department. The other half of the funds will go to increasing the presence of State Troopers in construction work zones.

As a result of these disturbing and alarming statistics, a legislator is drafting a new law that would establish a test program that would allow police officers and other authorized work zone speed control system operators to install automated speed enforcement systems to issue tickets to speeding drivers (the “Speed Camera Program”). According to the proposed law, the purpose of the Speed Camera Program is to ensure that the men and women who maintain New Jersey’s highways get the opportunity to work in a safe environment.

It’s clear based on the proposed legislation that the goal of New Jersey’s lawmakers is to make our roads safer. The initial feedback our office has been hearing from our sources in the construction industry has been positive, especially since nearby States with similar programs have seen a decrease in speeding near work zones since implementing their speed camera programs.

For example, Maryland implemented a similar program in 2010, and quickly reported that driver speeds in works zones decrease by 10%. Maryland also had a 59% drop in the likelihood of drivers going more than 10 mph over the speed limit on its roads. In 2019, Maryland’s 16 speed enforcement cameras issued 314,477 tickets, allowing it to collect $12,579,080 from speeding drivers.

New York’s Governor also signed a bill in September of 2021, authorizing the use of speed cameras in work zones. In that bill, New York’s lawmakers noted that there were 3,450 accidents in work zones on highways between 2010 and 2016, 50 people died, and over 1,100 workers and motorists were hurt. As such, New York has now taken steps to protect its construction workers and it is refreshing to see that New Jersey’s legislators have taken notice.

Finding new and innovative ways to protect our construction workers should continue to be a focus for our political leaders moving forward, even though programs like this are not always greeted with open arms. Notably, when a similar speed camera program started in Pennsylvania in 2020, the local news in Shrewsbury reported that The National Motorists Association disfavored speed cameras as a predatory practice. A spokesperson for the National Motorists Association was quoted at the time expressing concerns that the program was not a necessity because Pennsylvania had only averaged one construction road worker fatality every 2.14 years since 1970. While it is unclear how the Speed Camera Program will be received in New Jersey if implemented, troubling data from the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (“OSHA”) website indicates that programs like this are needed throughout our country right now. Each year more than 100 workers are killed and over 20,000 are injured in the highway and street construction industry.

Accordingly, if you are in the highway and street construction industry and you want to see your New Jersey roads safer for your employees, you should reach out to your local political leaders and let them know that you are in favor of the Speed Camera Program. You can also contact groups like the Utility & Transportation Contractors Association to help you voice your support or concerns about the proposed legislation. Hopefully, 2023 will be a year where New Jersey takes significant steps towards protecting the safety of our highway workers and the Speed Camera Program could be the first step towards that goal.

If you have any questions about the topics raised herein or about any other labor relations matter, please do not hesitate to contact the attorneys at Tobia & Lovelace Esqs., LLC at 973-746-6000 for further information.