INDOT to launch Indiana Safe Zones program
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The Indiana Department of Transportation on Wednesday announced the launch of Indiana Safe Zones, which employ camera technology to enforce speeding laws. The program is designed to prevent deaths and injuries in highway work sites.
Beginning Aug. 14, cameras will monitor the current I-70 construction zone in Hancock County. There will be a pre-enforcement period during which no violations will be issued.
“The goal of the Safe Zones program is to slow drivers down, reduce crashes, and most importantly, save lives,” INDOT Commissioner Mike Smith said in a news release. “Speed continues to be a factor in work zone crashes, and changing driver behavior is crucial to making work zones safer for drivers and road workers. For everyone’s safety, I urge drivers to wear their seat belts, avoid distractions, and follow the posted speed limit.”
INDOT said more work sites will be added to the program “over time.” By statute, INDOT may place cameras at up to four work sites at a time.
The program was created through the passage of House Enrolled Act 1015, which was signed into law by Gov. Eric Holcomb in 2023. As part of the statute, INDOT said system must undergo an annual calibration check by an independent laboratory.
According to INDOT, 269 people have been killed in crashes in highway work sites or work site backups in Indiana in the past decade, and four out of five people killed in work zones are either drivers or their passengers.
Here’s how Indiana Safe Zones will work:
- Signs will be posted as motorists enter and exit work sites notifying them that speed limits are being monitored by an automated system.
- The system will monitor the speed of vehicles using speed timing devices as they pass through the work zone. When a vehicle is determined to be traveling 11 mph or more above the posted speed limit, the system will capture an image of the vehicle’s rear license plate. After the data is validated, violations will be certified and issued to the owner of the vehicle by mail.
- The pilot program will begin with a pre-enforcement period, during which drivers will receive courtesy notices but will not be fined.
- After the pre-enforcement period ends, the first violation will result in a zero-fine warning, the second in a $75 civil penalty, and every violation thereafter a penalty of $150. In accordance with the statute, collected penalties will go into the state’s General Fund.
- Workers must be present at the site at the time of the event for violations to be valid.
INDOT said any photos or recorded images obtained through the SafeZone system may only be used for enforcing a traffic offense.
For more information about the new Safe Zones pilot program, click here.