Md. transportation officials consider more cameras, higher fines in work zones

Maryland’s transportation officials are considering adding more speed cameras to roadway work zones and increasing speeding fines in those areas, among other potential changes, Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller said Thursday.

There are an average of three work zone crashes in Maryland every day, threatening the safety of roughly 1,000 construction workers spread across more than 300 sites, Miller said.

“For the people who work at these sites, it’s not a matter of if they will see a crash on their job site. It’s a matter of when,” Miller said at a news conference with Maryland Department of Transportation officials and a highway response worker who survived a crash while helping a motorist. “This staggeringly high number of crashes is an unacceptable reality for Maryland workers.”

The recommendations Miller outlined Thursday are from a work group of state and federal highway officials and work zone workers, among others. The state administration is hoping the group’s recommendations will spur a “culture shift” in the way people drive in work zones.

Miller, who worked as a transportation engineer for 25 years, is leading the group. State officials announced its formation in April, weeks after six construction workers died after an out-of-control sedan traveling north on Interstate 695 entered an active construction zone through an opening in a temporary concrete barrier.

A 54-year-old driver lost control after striking another car when she was trying to change lanes, according to the Maryland State Police.

Since June, work group members have identified challenges to improving work zone safety for workers, law enforcement officers, first responders and the traveling public, Miller said.

In addition to more speed cameras and having higher fines, members have discussed modifying an “outdated” statute requiring that all speed cameras be manned by an operator, “modernizing technology” around how work zones are set up and making workers more visible to drivers, Miller said.

By the end of the year, the work group is expected to issue a list of legislative, executive and regulatory recommendations for making work zones safer.

Miller on Thursday called for Marylanders to fill out an online survey at zerodeathsmd.gov/wzsurvey to gauge the public’s general driving behavior and thoughts on the potential recommendations. She said the survey, which is open until Oct. 12, should take less than two minutes to complete.

Survey participants will be asked their age group, whether they slow down in work zones and whether they’d be more likely to slow down in a work zone if the state increased fines.

Participants will say whether work zones should have automated enforcement cameras, whether a series of two or more cameras would be more effective than one and whether a driver with multiple traffic violations over a set time period should face increased fines.

“I know that the culture change that we need to see around work zones is possible because it’s been done before,” Miller said. “The culture surrounding drivers and passengers wearing seat belts looked very different 35 years ago.”

She said a combination of lives lost, public education and enforcement created a culture shift that has made wearing a seat belt “an automatic habit,” exceeding 90% compliance.

“We collectively made tremendous progress to improve public safety and save lives through the usage of seat belts,” Miller said. “And we can do the same at work zones.”