(Source: MIRS.news, Published 03/21/2023) A bill package allowing for the installation of automatic traffic enforcement devices in work zones received testimony in the House Regulatory Reform Committee, where bill sponsor Rep. Will Snyder (D-Muskegon) said the legislation would limit construction worker fatalities.
Snyder referenced data that in the past 10 years, an average of 14 road workers died each year as a result of traffic accidents, with fatalities ranging from eight to 25 annually.
However, in Maryland, one of the 17 states that allows speed camera enforcement, there was an 80% reduction in traffic violations in work zones, and fatalities dropped by half within the first three years of implementation.
Snyder said he introduced HB 4132 to authorize the Michigan State Police (MSP) and Department of Transportation (MDOT) to authorize the use of automatic enforcement devices, or speed cameras, in construction work zones.
The cameras would detect and alert a driver exceeding the posted speed limit by 10 mph or more when workers are present in a construction zone.
The bill is a reintroduction of former Rep. Sara Cambensy’s HB 5750 from last session, which was reported from the House Judiciary Committee with bipartisan support before dying in lame duck.
Rep. Mike Mueller (R-Linden), also a sponsor of the package, said one update to the bill language is upping the flagged speed from 5 to 10 mph.
As a former law enforcement officer, he said the 5 mph limit took discretion away from law enforcement officers, who sometimes don’t give a ticket for a violation under 10 mph.
The cameras would only operate where workers are present, Snyder said, and not in situations where there are barriers, joking that: “Rep. Mueller knows how barriers work out" after a vehicle he was riding in hit one earlier this month.
Snyder said the bill language also mandates that signage is present in areas where camera enforcement can occur.
Mueller said the campaign will be similar to click-it or ticket, with a likely grace period to give drivers warning before enforcement starts.
The enforcement is a three-tiered implementation of sanctions, with the first violation a written warning only. The second violation within a three-year period is a civil infraction with a fine of $150, and a third violation is a fine upped to $300.
Mueller said the implementation of inconvenience is the first step towards changing people’s behavior and encouraging safer driving, especially in younger people, whose pocketbooks suffer from speeding tickets.
But he added that “when you think about filling out an affidavit or talking to your dipshit buddy who was driving your car and got the ticket, that’s less of an inconvenience than planning a funeral.”
Snyder's bill would keep in mind the safety of road construction workers and police officers, he said.
Mueller’s bill, HB 4133, would create a work zone safety fund overseen by MDOT. Any revenue from tickets outside what's needed to implement and install cameras would then go to improving worker safety, implementing greater traffic control and increasing police presence in work zones.
The bill was opposed because of the fund by Debbie Mikula, executive director of the Michigan Library Association.
She said penal fines are supposed to fund libraries, and when they’re diverted to other uses, it takes away from library support.
The bill was supported by Mark Hutchinson, who testified on behalf of Blue Line Solutions, Lance Binoniemi with the Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association and Jonathon BYRD with the Michigan Laborers District Council.
The package awaits action in the House Regulatory Reform Committee.
