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Indiana lawmakers have authored legislation to allow traffic cameras in highway work zones several years in a row, without success.
Doug Kerr/FlickrHoosiers likely won’t be getting speeding tickets from highway speed cameras anytime soon. That’s after House Bill 1465 to create a pilot program for such cameras is all but dead this session.
Rep. Jim Pressel (R-Rolling Prairie) has authored a bill to allow speed cameras in highway construction zones for two years now. He said its biggest obstacle has nothing to do with Indiana.
“It’s bad actors in other states that have used similar programs like this and there’s been corruption involved,” Pressel said.
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Pressel said that’s why he put guardrails in his bill: only four work zone cameras could be used throughout the entire state. And the money had to go into a special fund that was split between the Department of Transportation and the Indiana State Police.
Some lawmakers also worry that after the pilot program, traffic cameras would pop up everywhere. Pressel said he’s opposed to that – and even added language to his bill to specifically ban traffic cams outside of highway construction zones.
“But we have to do something to protect not only the workers in those zones, but the motorists that travel through those zones," Pressel said. "And we just got to get people to slow down.”
Pressel said he’ll look for any ways to at least advance debate on the issue through the rest of this session.
Contact reporter Brandon at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.
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