We all know that Thanksgiving is one of the biggest driving weekends of the year.
But drivers in New York State this past week had to deal with something new on the road besides traffic congestion: speed cameras in work zones on certain highways.
The cameras were in use on I-87, I-84, I-496 and other major state roads in Nassau, Suffolk, Orange, Jefferson and Warren counties, according to radio station WPDH.
Is this the snarkiest anti-speed camera sign on Staten Island?
Those opposed to the NYC devices have also colorfully marked other speed camera locations in order to warn drivers.
It’s all part of a five-year program, passed by law in 2021, to place speed cameras in work zones on state highways and major roads in New York. The cameras have been operational for the last couple of months.
But there are a couple of catches.
Unlike the fixed speed camera locations we’re used to here in the five boroughs, the highway work zone speed cameras are mobile units, moving from road to road. So you don’t know where they’ll be unless you go to the state “Work Zone Safety Awareness” website, which lists where the cameras will be during certain times.
Forewarned is forearmed, as they say.
There’s also some confusion about the program’s parameters, because some reporting on the program says that drivers will get a violation if they go 10 mph or more above the speed limit in the work zone, like what happens with city speed cameras.
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But that work zone speed camera website doesn’t say exactly how fast you have to be going in order to get a ticket.
The website says that the work zone speed camera violation process starts when radar identifies any vehicle traveling “equal to or faster than the posted speed limit” in the work zone.
From that it sounds like we have to closely watch our speedometers to make sure we’re right on the nose or below when it comes to the speed limit.
I mean, who travels at the exact speed limit? But this program doesn’t seem to allow you any room for error at all.
Your first work zone violation will cost you $50. A second violation within 18 months will result in a $75 ticket. Subsequent violations within 18 months will cost you $100.
New York State officials aren’t dumb. They’ve seen the millions upon millions of dollars that have poured into New York City’s coffers thanks to speed cameras. They want a piece of the action.
So this is how it starts, with speed cameras in work zones. Because who can argue? Nobody wants to put highway construction or maintenance workers at risk. They’re some of the most vulnerable people on the road.
But I have my doubts that this is where the program will end.
If “successful” at improving safety after the five-year period, it’s a pretty good bet that the program will be made permanent. And if more works needs to be done to keep workers safe after that five-year program, the camera system will in the same way become permanent.
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Baltimore-bred writer gets violation during early morning drive in July.
And it won’t be long before the state expands the program to roadways where no work is being done. Because those roads need to be kept safe as well.
We’ve seen how the city speed camera program has vastly expanded after its humble beginnings in schools zones and only during certain hours. It’s now a 24/7/365 network.
One of the great things about driving outside of the five boroughs has been the lack of speed cameras. It’s a liberating feeling that officials in places other than New York City trust most motorists to behave responsibly and not drive like maniacs.
Well, kiss those days goodbye.
New York drivers face new Thanksgiving weekend traffic menace: highway speed cameras (opinion)
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26.11.2023
We all know that Thanksgiving is one of the biggest driving weekends of the year.
But drivers in New York State this past week had to deal with something new on the road besides traffic congestion: speed cameras in work zones on certain highways.
The cameras were in use on I-87, I-84, I-496 and other major state roads in Nassau, Suffolk, Orange, Jefferson and Warren counties, according to radio station WPDH.
Is this the snarkiest anti-speed camera sign on Staten Island?
Those opposed to the NYC devices have also colorfully marked other speed camera locations in order to warn drivers.
It’s all part of a five-year program, passed by law in 2021, to place speed cameras in work zones on state highways and major roads in New York. The cameras have been operational for the last couple of months.
But there are a couple of catches.
Unlike the fixed speed camera locations we’re used to here in the five boroughs, the highway work zone speed cameras are........
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