INDIANAPOLIS — Thousands of drivers have been warned after being caught speeding in a construction zone on the northeast side of Indianapolis. The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) and construction workers say these warnings are having an impact.
“Our office, everyone comes through our office, and we want everybody to be able to go home,” said Chad Scott, the VP of Safety, Health and Environmental Management at Milestone Contractors.
According to the Indiana Department of Labor, there are approximately 40,000 crashes in work zones nationwide every year. Scott has advocated for the speed control pilot program, created through legislation at the statehouse, because he has witnessed the devastation that speeding in a work zone can cause.
“I have lost a co-worker in the past,” Scott said. “I have seen that tragedy from a distracted driver that was in our zone, and I don’t want to ever have to go through that again.”
He believes the best way to ensure safety is to continue the program. INDOT began enforcing the program on May 5. So far, it has sent out 25,000 first violation warnings to drivers who were going 11 miles over the speed limit in the Clear Path I-465/I-69 construction area.
“The first tickets with fines associated could happen at any time. We are up over that 25,000 mark for first violations, so second violations could happen really at any time,” said Natalie Garrett with INDOT…