NYC DOT Announces Launch of Mobile Speed Camera Enforcement in Select Highway Work Zones

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IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 26, 2024
Contact: (212) 839-4850, [email protected]

NYC DOT Announces Launch of Mobile Speed Camera Enforcement in Select Highway Work Zones

Violators Will Receive Escalating Violations, Starting With $50 for the First Offense

Work zone setup along the Major Deegan Expressway in the Bronx. Credit: NYC DOT

NEW YORK - New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez today announced the launch of mobile speed camera enforcement in select highway work zones. First offenses will start at $50, increase to $75 for second offenses, and escalate to $100 for all subsequent offenses that happen in an 18-month period. The new mobile speed camera enforcement focuses on state highways, launched in partnership with the New York State Department of Transportation, and will help protect NYC DOT highway work crews and all road users.

"Speeding ruins lives, and if you speed in a work zone, you will get caught," said NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez. "My message to drivers in work zones is simple: behave as if crews in work zones are members of your own family. Our crews do important work to keep you safe, and we need you to do your part to help keep them safe."

The state recently deployed mobile speed cameras at NYC DOT worksites in four of the five boroughs, protecting highway work crews on the Clearview Expressway in Queens, on the West Shore Expressway on Staten Island, Prospect Parkway in Brooklyn, and both the Bronx River Parkway and Major Deegan in the Bronx. The results of the program have been impressive: the speed camera setups at NYC DOT worksites have already identified 210 speeding vehicles.

In addition to safety concerns from speeding, NYC DOT has seen an increase in recent years in work zone intrusions, where vehicles enter prohibited areas on both highways and local roadways. NYC DOT experienced 12 work zone intrusions last year, six of which resulted in an injury, and 12 in 2022. This followed an average of seven annual intrusions between 2019-2021.

Overall, 51 NYC DOT workers have been injured in work zone incidents since 2009 and five have died from work zone-related events during the past 21 years. This year alone, NYC DOT has experienced seven work zone intrusions, with an alarming four injuries.

New York State's automated camera system works similarly to the city's camera enforcement programs, with signage posted, though it can only be in construction or maintenance zones on New York State controlled access highways and parkways.

NYC has successfully implemented life-saving camera enforcement programs across the five boroughs through red light camera enforcement, speed camera enforcement, bus lane camera enforcement, and weigh-in-motion truck weight limit enforcement.

Red Light Cameras: Following extensive advocacy by NYC DOT and the Adams administration, in early June of this year, the New York State Legislature passed the renewal and expansion of the city's red-light camera program, allowing it to grow from 150 to 600 intersections. This quadrupling of the program gives NYC DOT the ability to build upon a proven safety tool that has on average resulted in a 73 percent decline in red-light running, a 65 percent decline in right-angle/T-bone injury crashes, and a 49 percent reduction in rear-end crashes. Previously, state law only allowed red light cameras at one percent of the city's 13,700 signalized intersections.

Speed Camera Program: The city scored a major victory in 2022 when the state legislature authorized New York City to operate its cameras in 750 school zones on a 24/7 basis. Prior to that the speed cameras were only allowed to operate on weekdays, between 6:00 A.M. and 10 P.M., whereas 59 percent of traffic fatalities occurred in times when cameras were required to be turned off. In the year after this change, overall speed camera violations declined by 30 percent and traffic fatalities dropped by 25 percent specifically in speed camera zones during the extended hours.

Bus Lane Camera Enforcement: NYC DOT also operates a bus lane camera enforcement program along over 50 bus corridors across the city. This is alongside the Metropolitan Transit Authority's Automated Camera Enforcement (ACE) found mounted on buses along 32 bus routes, with more to be added.

Weigh-In-Motion Truck Enforcement (WIM): Starting in November 2023, NYC DOT began issuing violations to vehicles with excessive weights on the triple cantilever portion of the BQE if sensors observed vehicles 10 percent above the maximum gross weight limit or 20 percent above the maximum axle weight limit. The results showed a 64 percent reduction in overweight trucks on this portion of the BQE, with the monthly average of overweight trucks going from 7,777 to 2,769.

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