(WBEN) - Summer weather means road construction season is here, and this year with a different look.
Automated work zone speed cameras have already been seen in construction areas across Western New York, and tickets are being sent out to motorists.
So, what do drivers need to know?
First, that there is some grace in enforcement.
"I've seen people say 'If I'm going one mile over the speed limit I'm going to get a notice of liability in the mail,' that's just not true," said Ryan Whalen with the State Department of Transportation. "I believe the cameras allow you to go up to 10 miles an hour over the speed limit without getting one of those notices. If I were a driver I wouldn't test that."
The tickets drivers may recieve in the mail are not the same as ones handed out by officers.
"Penalties that go along with the automated work zone speed enforcement program are really pretty minimal compared to what might happen if you were caught doing the same thing by a Trooper in a work zone," Whalen said. "There you could face double fines, points on your license. That doesn't go with this program."
Fines start at $50, and increase to $75 if you are caught a second time within an 18-month period. Third and subsequent notices within an 18-month period are $100.
Whalen said the money collected from speed camera notices does not go toward the general fund, but is used for work zone safety programs.
"If we didn't have anybody speeding through work zones and we didn't have to collect any of those fines we would be happy," Whalen said.
