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Photos, Trooper Disguises In Work Zones Touted As Ways To Curb Worker Deaths

August 1, 2005

Lead-footed motorists in construction zones could get some unwelcome and costly mail from Illinois State Police. The agency is starting a pilot program next month that will allow it to photograph drivers who speed in work zones. The photos, along with a fine of $375 or more, will then be sent to the motorists' homes. The plan is in response to provisional data from 2004 which shows that 39 people were killed in work zones in Illinois, with two of them being workers. In 2003, 44 people were killed, including five workers. Nine fatalities have occurred so far this year, but none have been employees at the sites, said Matt Vanover, a spokesman with the Illinois Department of Transportation.

Another effort, Operation Hardhat, is a collaborative effort between state police and the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority aimed at improving safety on state highways. The effort has already begun, with troopers handing out tickets to motorists for speeding through a construction zone along Interstate Highway 294 near Halsted Street in South Holland. Hardhat is among the initiatives created since Gov. Rod Blagojevich commissioned a work-zone task force in 2003.

The program places troopers disguised as highway construction workers in construction zones armed with radar guns. One trooper, dressed in full construction gear, clocked speeders with a radar gun, then radioed uniformed officers who made the stops. Of the 44 stopped motorists, 32 were caught speeding, five had seat-belt violations, one was driving on a suspended license, another was cited for improper lane usage and the rest were for miscellaneous violations, said state police spokesman Doug Whitmore.

Although officers were busy stopping motorists, a similar operation along Interstate Highway 88 near Naperville yielded no stops, officials said. Whitmore said he is unsure when and where the program would be implemented again.

"Preventing accidents and injuries caused by crashes occurring in work zones is a significant responsibility for the Illinois State Police," Director Larry Trent said in announcing the initiative. "We must protect these workers who ultimately make all of us safer by improving our roadways. Troopers assigned to work zone details will take a zero-tolerance approach when issuing citations to speed-limit violators."

In one incident, Flagger Donna Salemi, 31, suffered several broken bones and internal injuries when she was struck by a motorist last year. The mother of two from Chicago said the vehicle hit her with such force that she was tossed into the air and landed on the hood of the car, where she was carried for about 50 feet before the driver stopped, tossing her 25 feet into oncoming traffic. She missed nine months of work.

"Driving through construction zones is very dangerous because it's a change in traffic patterns and lanes," Vanover said. "There are also bulldozers, cement mixers and other thick equipment that a regular car will lose when it goes up against [them]."

The pilot photo program will use two vans, each equipped to record a clear image of the vehicle and driver, its speed and license plate. Tickets would then be issued by mail to the vehicle's owner. The registered owners will not be liable if someone else was driving.

Vanover said the state has never before used photo enforcement for speeding. There will be signs in the targeted work zones warning motorists of the photo enforcement, he added. Construction zones across the state will be used, with one of the vans stationed in northern Illinois and the other downstate. "The vans will move throughout the state. They will be in the Springfield area at some point," Vanover said.

IDOT originally planned to start using the camera system in July. As of last week, however, the details were still being finalized. "We are not going to purchase a van. What we are going to do is work out a monthly lease with a company that would provide the system. Basically, it will be a camera mounted in a van that would be positioned in a work zone," Vanover said.

Photo enforcement and trooper disguises are just two of the new ways the state is cracking down on work zone speeding. Under enhanced penalties signed into law by Gov. Rod Blagojevich last year, first-time work zone speeders, including those caught on camera, will be fined $375, with $125 of that going to pay off-duty state troopers for added enforcement in construction or maintenance zones. Second-time offenders are subject to a $1,000 fine, including a $250 surcharge to hire troopers, and the loss of their license for 90 days. Drivers who hit a worker in a construction zone face a fine of up to $10,000 and 14 years in prison.