For years, Michigan lawmakers have been pushing to get cameras in construction zones, and that call has once again been renewed.
The idea is to slow drivers down and keep construction workers safe while they risk their lives to fix our roads.
Most people I talked to were on board with the idea.
“What do you think about the idea of cameras in construction zones?” Ali Hoxie asked.
“If it helps make people safer I’m OK with it.,” Chris Flanagan, from Ferndale, said.
“Anything that keeps them safe,” Laurie Brown added.
Two State House bills are proposing cameras in construction zones, and a system to punish speeders.
Under the proposed bills, a driver caught on camera going 10 mph or more over the speed limit would first get a written violation.
If a driver is caught a second time within a three-year period, a $150 fine will be coming their way.
Then, a third time within three years, the fine would jump to $300.
“My first thought is I’m surprised that doesn’t already happen,” David Kirby, from Huntington Woods, said.
It does happen, but just not in Michigan. At least 10 states have legislation on the books to use cameras, including New York, Louisiana and Illinois.
However, not all states are on board. At least eight states, including Wisconsin, South Carolina and New Jersey, have banned speed cameras.
Not everyone was on board with the idea.
“I would say no, I would say definitely no because you are going against somebodies rights,” Larry Ryckaert, from Sterling Heights, said.
Rob Coppersmith, the executive vice president of the Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association (MITA), shutting down the thought that big brother is watching.
“Personally, I would say if you have a cell phone, that argument has sailed as far as I’m concerned,” Coppersmith said.
MITA has been trying to get the law on the books for a while after hearing from construction workers who are concerned about their safety.
“We get reports of things that could have, all it takes is a second for something to become a near to horrific (crash),” Coppersmith said.
The money from the fines would go back into funding the cameras.
