Hancock County’s “Safe Zones” pilot trial program begins along I-70

Hancock County, Indiana – Hancock County construction zones will have speed cameras installed.
The state’s new Worksite Speed Control Pilot Program, sometimes known as “Safe Zones,” encompasses all of this. In the 2023 legislative session, the new proposition was approved by the Indiana General Assembly.

INDOT Strategic Communications Director Natalie Garrett stated, “This program was designed to improve safety in work zones for both road crews and motorists who are traveling through work zones.” “Speed is still a factor in a lot of high-impact crashes that result in injuries or even fatalities.”

INDOT will use Safe Zones technology in construction zones as part of the program to record cars that exceed the speed limit by at least 11 mph. The first region to use the cameras will be the work zone on I-70 in Hancock County, located between mile markers 95 and 105.

There will be a pre-enforcement warning period that starts on Wednesday. The warning phase, according to the department, will run for at least thirty days.

First-time infringers will get a warning notice in the mail when that grace period expires. A civil fine of $75 will be imposed on repeat violators. Those who violate the law for the third time or more will be fined $150 per time.

As it is, this initiative is obviously just intended to target drivers who speed, according to Garrett. “Perhaps it will draw drivers’ attention and cause them to think twice the next time they drive through a work zone.”

According to INDOT, in 2023 alone, there were 33 fatalities and over 1,750 injuries in work zones. The goal of the program is to reduce those figures, which, according to INDOT officials, has been accomplished in other states with comparable initiatives.

Several road crews and construction contractors are optimistic that new programs like this one would at least pave the way for safer road work zones because they have personally experienced numerous close calls.

“Every day out here, you’re flirting with your life,” said Jake Carr, a construction contractor.
Carr has over 20 years of experience working on state and municipal roadways. He claimed to have witnessed almost everything at the time.

Carr remarked, “I have had cars just freakin’ run over my cones and run into barrels.” Really, things are a little crazy out here.

Even though Carr has seen several near-misses over the years, on Tuesday at 38th and Post in Indianapolis, he said that a truck crashed through ten or fifteen of his construction barrels.

Carr remarked, “This guy speeds on and spins me around after hitting me in the back of my left elbow with his mirror.” “I yell at the man, but he just keeps driving,”

Carr stated that he fears the result might have been different if they had been closer.

“That moment there could have been my life,” he remarked. “Without my wife and myself, I could have left all three of my children here. It’s just a few inches to the left, you know me to the left or him to the right.”

Despite the fact that Carr and his team were operating on Indianapolis city streets, narratives such as his serve as justification for legislators to investigate programs such as the Safe Zones Pilot Program.

Carr and other road workers expressed their hope that drivers will take the program seriously and be held accountable.

“Just take it slow,” he said. “Allow everyone to reach their destination. At the end of the day, let’s all go home instead of you racing home and perhaps killing someone just to get home, maybe five minutes earlier.”

Up to four worksites can simultaneously use the Safe Zones technology according to INDOT.
The department stated that more places using those cameras will be revealed at a later time.

Currently, the effort is a five-year experimental project. The ultimate goal, according to INDOT officials, is for the program to become permanent.