Listen Live
road under construction with trucks and cones

Source: Photographer: James MacDonald/Bloomberg via Getty Images

INDIANAPOLIS — A new bill in the statehouse passed the Senate and sets to make worksites even safer by having the Indiana Department of Transportation work with State Police to set up cameras in construction zones.

House Bill 1015 was authored by state Rep. Jim Pressel. It would create a worksite speed control pilot program, starting July 1, 2023, to enforce the construction zone speed limits in four different sites. It passed the House in February by a vote of 70-28. Then, it passed the state Senate Monday with a vote of 31-17.

The program’s will have ISP work alongside INDOT to set up cameras in the worksites, then create a public information campaign to warn motorists of the change with new signs posted around the area. House Bill 1015 gives driver an 11mph buffer. After your first warning, you get a $75 ticket on your second offense, anything more than that and it goes up to $150.

“House Bill 1015 is aimed to slow down motorists as they drive through work zones in Indiana,” State Sen. John Ford – the bill’s sponsor – said in a press release. “I am happy to see the Senate pass the bill with bipartisan support and work to protect Hoosiers traveling along and working on our highways.”

Sen. Ford cites the need for this bill from INDOT’s own numbers on worksite crashes. In 2022, there were over 7,000 crashes in construction zones that caused over 31 deaths and over 1,400 injuries.

House Bill 1015 passed both the House and Senate, but the Senate added an amendment, so it goes back to the House for another vote.