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<< Previous   of   Next >> (click to enlarge)   ADVERTISEMENT   Related Stories • Who says we only publish bad news? 4/17/08   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Thursday, April 17, 2008 Work-zone speeders to be caught on camera State to experiment with ticketing drivers by mail By Yoshiaki Nohara, Herald Writer Speeders along highway work zones in Washington soon may find themselves caught by new traffic cameras -- and they will get tickets in their mail boxes later. The state's pilot project is unlikely to debut this year in Snohomish County, which has the second highest number of highway work zone collisions among counties in Washington. Elsewhere in the state, however, automated cameras in a minivan or sports utility vehicle could start photographing the rear license plate of a speeding vehicle as early as May 1, said Alice Fiman, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation. A $137 ticket will be mailed to the vehicle's registered owner within two weeks. The ticket, treated similarly to a parking citation, will not be part of the driver's permanent record. The owner can protest the ticket by swearing under penalty of perjury that he or she was not driving the vehicle. "It's a safety issue. We've had people killed," said Rep. Judy Clibborn, D-Mercer Island, who is chairwoman of the House Transportation Committee. The state will use the cameras at different locations through October as a pilot project, Fiman said. The Transportation Department has identified four likely locations for the project, Fiman said. Those sites are on I-5 near Napavine in Lewis County, on I-5 near Grand Mound in Thurston County, on Highway 539 north of Bellingham, and at U.S. 2 and Highway 97 in Chelan County. "Crews have noticed speeding issues" at those locations, Fiman said. The state saw 40 fatal collisions in highway work zones between 2001 and 2006, according to state accident data. That's about seven fatal accidents per year. During the same time period, Snohomish County had 1,085 collisions in highway work zones. Only King County had more collisions. Snohomish County had 373 work-zone collisions in 2006. That was up from 97 in 2005, state data shows. The county saw a sharp increase in the number of collisions, as two gas-tax hikes in 2003 and 2005 started many road projects in the area, Fiman said. The rest of the state saw the same trend. The state plans to install signs near construction sites to warn drivers about the cameras, Fiman said. "If they are not doing anything wrong, they don't have anything to worry about," said Rep. Mike Sells, D-Everett. Regardless of the cameras, drivers need to slow down near work zones filled with people and heavy equipment, said Sells, a member of the House Transportation Committee. "It's a pilot project," he said. "We will see how it works." Transportation experts are set to report the project's results to the state Legislature in 2009. The state of Illinois started a similar project in 2006, believed to be the first in the nation, said Mike Claffey, a spokesman for the Illinois Department of Transportation. In Illinois, cameras in vans capture images of the driver and the license plate. First-time violators get a $375 fine by mail within two weeks; second-time offenders face a $1,000 fine and the loss of their driver's license for 90 days. More than 6,500 citations have been issued since the project's inception. The project, combined with education campaign, has made a difference, Claffey said. The state had 44 people killed in work zones in 2003. The number went down to 21 in 2007. Drivers need to watch their speed, especially along work zones, Clibborn said. Issuing a ticket may anger speeding drivers, but it could also prevent them from hurting themselves or others. "There's justification for having people more alert," she said. Reporter Yoshiaki Nohara: 425-339-3029 or ynohara@heraldnet.com. New traffic cameras The state plans to start a pilot project to crack down on speeders near highway work zones. Q. How does it work? A. A minivan or sports utility vehicle with cameras photographs the rear license plate of a speeding vehicle, clocked by radar. The vehicle's owner will get a $137 ticket by mail within two weeks. Q. When does it start? A. The project could begin as early as May 1 and continue through October. Q. Where? A. Four likely locations are on I-5 near Napavine, on I-5 near Grand Mound, on Highway 539 north of Bellingham, and at U.S. 2 and Highway 97 in Chelan County. Source: the Washington state Department of Transportation

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