Date:  Monday, September 15, 2008

Contact: Alice Fiman, WSDOT Communications (360) 705-7080 (Olympia)

The Washington State Department of Transportation launched a pilot project today utilizing automated speed enforcement cameras to cite motorists driving too fast through construction work zones.

Drivers in Southwest Washington will see a small sport utility vehicle parked next to I-5 south of Chehalis www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/i5/rushrd13thst/ starting today. Before each shift, the SUV operator will check equipment and then the speed radar and automated traffic safety camera goes to work, catching the rear license plate of vehicles speeding through the work zone. The speed enforcement SUV will only be working in active construction zones.

The Washington State Patrol will mail a $137 citation to the registered owner of vehicles caught speeding through the work zone. Signs warning drivers of the speed enforcement project have been up for close to a week. For more information on the program, a question and answer section and public feedback form, please visit: www.wsdot.wa.gov/safety/ATSC.

Friday, Sept. 5, WSDOT hosted a demonstration for media and local officials. Photos and video of the kick-off event, including the SUV unit and accompanying highway signs, are available at: www.flickr.com/wsdot and www.youtube.com/user/wsdot.

The cameras are just part of WSDOT’s “Give ‘Em A Brake” program, to promote the protection of workers out on the job. You can also give yourself a break by driving carefully in the work zone.

Between 2001 and 2006, work zone collisions increased by nearly 60 percent, from only 686 in 2001 to 1,097 in 2006. The top two reasons for work zone crashes are speeding and inattentive driving. And, the majority of work zone deaths and injuries are drivers and passengers – accounting for 99 percent of the total in 2006.

To read more facts and tips on driving through a work zone, please visit our “Give ‘Em A Brake” Web site at www.wsdot.wa.gov/Safety/Brake/.

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