Speed cameras coming to some Indiana work zones by mid-2024

INDIANAPOLIS – Speed cameras will be installed in some Indiana work zones by mid-2024 under a new state law.

Gov. Eric Holcomb has signed House Enrolled Act 1015 into law. The legislation creates a pilot program to allow speed cameras in up to four Indiana work zones at a time.

“We’d like to see it in place potentially later this construction season,” said Natalie Garrett, strategic communications director for the Indiana Department of Transportation. “However, that full deployment could push to next year.”

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, speed cameras are currently up and running in 18 states and the District of Columbia.

The locations for Indiana’s speed cameras will be chosen by INDOT, Garrett said.

“We’ll look at which ones will be most impactful related to the purpose of the law, which is to lower speeds through work zones,” Garrett said.

The cameras will take pictures of license plates on cars or trucks exceeding the speed limit by at least 11 miles per hour. A ticket would then be mailed to the address on the vehicle registration.

For the first violation, drivers will only receive a warning. The second offense results in a $75 fine, and additional violations will each cost $150.

“Other states, Pennsylvania in particular, that implemented with a warning ticket first [have] seen a reduction in the people that would recommit,” said State Rep. Jim Pressel (R-Rolling Prairie), who pushed for the legislation for several years.

Under the law, if the vehicle owner wasn’t behind the wheel at the time of the violation, that person can have the ticket sent to the actual driver.

“We do the same thing for tolling,” Pressel said. “We do the same thing for parking tickets.”

People who work in road construction say they’re optimistic the program will get drivers to slow down.

“We told the governor when he signed that bill that with that stroke of a pen, we guarantee you that he saved lives,” said Richard Hedgecock, president of Indiana Constructors, Inc., which represents 200 construction companies statewide.

The law does not allow speed cameras outside of highway work zones nor does it allow red light cameras to be installed.