In December 2023, the PA House and Senate approved and Gov. Josh Shapiro signed Act 38 of 2023 into law, which makes the Automated Work Zone Speed Enforcement (AWZSE) program permanent.

This program, which was partially tested on the PA Turnpike system, has already seen great success in reducing the number of incidents of speeding and crashes. Act 38 also provides for the ability of school busses to have cameras to better address people who blow through the vehicle’s stop signs.

According to the 2023 AWZSE Annual Report, there has been a 47% reduction in excessive speeding (11+ mph over the speed limit) in work zones and 38% in overall speeding (1+ mph over the speed limit) since the program began in March 2020.

More about the program goals and success to date:

• Reduce speeds in work zones. During 2022’s primary construction months (April – October), speeding in AWZSE enforced work zones has been reduced to 17.2% of all traffic, and excessive speeding (11+ mph over the posted speed limit) has been reduced to 2.6% since the start of the program.
   
• Promote work zone safety. Pennsylvania has experienced a reduction in work zone crashes since the start of the program. National and overall Pennsylvania crash trends have increased over this same period. AWZSE has been a successful tool in helping to reduce crashes in work zones.
   
• Improve driver behavior. Measured, sustained speed reductions have been observed in AWZSE enforced work zones, with smaller (but measurable) reductions at times when AWZSE is not in effect in those zones.
• Save worker and traveler lives. Since the program began, fatalities in work zones have increased nationally while Pennsylvania work zones have had a slight decrease.  AWZSE has been one of the contributing factors in those reductions.
   
• Complement existing speed enforcement by the Pennsylvania State Police. In 2022, Pennsylvania State Police supported 84 projects for $4.4 million. This support was for work activities where PSP presence remains the most effective tool to enhance safety.

The initiative has been fully supported by the PTC, PennDOT, and the Pennsylvania State Police.

Source: PennDOT, Pennsylvania General Assembly