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Highway construction zone speed cameras now active in Indiana

A highway sign reads "Notice Speed Photo Enforced Max Penalty $150 Worksite"
Brandon Smith
/
IPB News
Indiana's highway construction zone speed camera pilot program began on Aug. 14, 2024, on Interstate 70, east of Indianapolis.

Highway work zone speed cameras are now active in Indiana for the first time.

The Indiana Department of Transportation began its limited pilot program Wednesday with cameras in just a single construction zone.

Lawmakers authorized the speed camera pilot in 2023. The law currently limits the cameras to just four highway construction zones statewide.

INDOT is starting with cameras in a work zone on Interstate 70 just east of Indianapolis. The agency plans to announce additional sites later this year.

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The cameras take a photo of the rear of any vehicle that is traveling at least 11 miles per hour over the speed limit when workers are present. Whoever owns the vehicle then receives a warning or citation in the mail.

The first infraction is a warning. The next is a $75 ticket, with $150 tickets for every violation after that.

INDOT is using what it calls a “pre-enforcement period” for the first speed camera zone — drivers caught speeding will only receive warnings for at least the first 30 days the cameras are active.

Brandon is our Statehouse bureau chief. Contact him at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.

Brandon Smith has covered the Statehouse for Indiana Public Broadcasting for more than a decade, spanning three governors and a dozen legislative sessions. He's also the host of Indiana Week in Review, a weekly political and policy discussion program seen and heard across the state. He previously worked at KBIA in Columbia, Missouri and WSPY in Plano, Illinois. His first job in radio was in another state capitol - Jefferson City, Missouri - as a reporter for three stations around the Show-Me State.