Sacramento, CA — Legislation that would allow speed cameras in work zones and establish a fine structure for speeding is advancing in the California Assembly.
Introduced by Assemblymember Matt Haney (D-San Francisco), A.B. 289 would authorize the state’s Department of Transportation to develop a speed safety pilot program that would install up to 75 speed cameras in work zones. Under the bill, fines would start at $50 for drivers traveling 11-15 mph over the speed limit and increase to $500 for driving 100 mph or faster.
The legislation specifies that a speed safety system may issue citations “only when construction or maintenance workers are present in the state highway work zone.”
A press release from Haney’s office points to similar legislation in Maryland and Pennsylvania that have resulted in an 80% decrease in speeding violations and a nearly 20% decline in crashes.
Michael Sprouse, president of the American Traffic Safety Services Association’s California chapter, is among the bill’s backers.
“After almost 30 years of working in traffic control, I have never seen people driving as fast or as recklessly as I do today,” he said in the release. “We keep increasing the amount of signs, cones and barricades – to seemingly no effect on driver behavior.
“On freeways, where the risk to everyone involved is the greatest, enforcing speed controls is the most effective way to ensure everyone goes home to their families at the end of the day.”
The bill was first read on Jan. 22 and has passed three Assembly committees. It’s now under consideration by the full Assembly.
