Date:  Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Contact: Alice Fiman, WSDOT Communications (360) 705-7080 (Olympia)

CHEHALIS – Automated traffic safety cameras (ATSC) are no longer active in a Lewis County work zone.

While the cameras may be gone, roadway work continues in Chehalis and many other spots in Washington. WSDOT and the Washington State Patrol remind drivers to Give ‘em a Brake and slow down in this area and all active work zones.

Today, WSDOT crews removed the “Speed Limit Photo Enforced” signs near the work zone on I-5 south of Chehalis www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/i5/rushrd13thst/. Drivers may continue to see the SUV unit on I-5 near Chehalis for another few weeks, as it will be collecting data. However, all photo enforcement was complete as of Friday, Oct. 24.

WSDOT will not use the ATSC unit during winter months, but has plans to use the program in active construction zones in Spring 2009.

WSDOT launched the ATSC pilot project Sept. 15. Located in an SUV parked along the highway within an active construction work zone, the ATSC radar and camera unit recorded the speed and photographed the rear license plate of vehicles speeding through the work zone. An operator monitored the system and forwarded violator information to the Washington State Patrol.

The WSP then checked the vehicle registration and the registered owner received a $137 citation. As of Friday, 1,197 were issued. Results of how driver behavior changed during the ATSC unit deployment will be available later this year.

Photos and video of the SUV unit and accompanying highway signs are available online.

The cameras are just part of WSDOT’s “Give ‘Em A Brake” program, to promote the protection of workers out on the job. But you can also give yourself a break by driving carefully in the work zone.

Between 2001 and 2006, work zone collisions increased by nearly 60 percent, from only 686 in 2001 to 1,097 in 2006. The top two reasons for work zone crashes are speeding and inattentive driving. And, the majority of work zone deaths and injuries are drivers and passengers – accounting for 99 percent of the total in 2006.

For more information on the program, a question and answer section and public feedback form, please visit: www.wsdot.wa.gov/safety/ATSC. To read more facts and tips on driving through a work zone, please visit our “Give ‘Em A Brake” Web site at www.wsdot.wa.gov/Safety/Brake/.

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