Maryland Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller testified in favor of a bill that’s designed to get drivers to slow down near work zones on Thursday.
Miller, a former transportation engineer, told lawmakers in Annapolis that in 2023 there were more than 1,200 crashes in work zones across the state.
“That’s over three crashes every single day,” said Miller.
Given the statistics for highway work crews, she said, “It’s not a matter of if they will see a crash on the job site, it’s a matter of when.”
Last year, six people — five contractors and one inspector — were killed when a car barreled into their work zone on the Baltimore Beltway.
Mike Higgins, with Concrete General Inc., told lawmakers that five of the six workers killed in that crash in March of last year worked for his firm.
The crash “changed our company [and] it changed the victims’ families forever,” he said.
Among those killed were two brothers and a father and son.
The bill that Miller was testifying on would add automated speed cameras to work zones, and increase the fines for speeding near work zones from $40 to $290.
Among those testifying, Howard Bostick, an emergency response technician who operates a CHART truck for the Maryland State Highway Administration.
“This van came down and hit my truck at 70 mph,” he said while recounting an incident when he responded to an incident on Baltimore’s Jones Falls Expressway. “The crash was scary, and my life flashed before my eyes.”
Maryland State Sen. William Folden, a police officer, spoke on the bill.
“I don’t have a problem, I think the bill is warranted,” Folden said. “I just think there are some things that we could do a little better.”
He noted that there’s no provision for a 30-day introductory period between the time the bill would take effect and the time when fines would actually be issued.
Folden also asked about the jump in the fine structure from $40 to $290. He wondered if there was consideration to creating a tiered system, with fines escalating depending on the violation.
“Someone going 12 mph [over the speed limit],” he said, “is wholly different than someone that’s going 35 mph” over the work zone speed limit.
The lieutenant governor responded to that question.
“When we make the choice to exceed the posted speed limit, and decide to endanger everyone on the roadway, there’s a price for that,” Miller said.
Maryland State Sen. Anthony Muse said he did have some concerns about the impact of steeper fines on people who might be struggling financially, but he also voiced concerns about safety on the roads.
“People have absolutely gone crazy when it comes down to their driving habits,” Muse said.
He noted that in some neighborhoods in Prince George’s County, where his district is located, residents have “changed their tune” when it comes to speed cameras. In the past, people resisted them; now, he said, some communities are asking for more.
Miller said while the bill would provide for multiple speed cameras within a work zone — some of which can stretch for miles — a single citation would be issued even if multiple cameras caught an infraction for a car in the same work zone.
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