Michigan House approves 'photo cop' bill authorizing camera enforcement in work zones

(FOX 2) - Motorists may not know they were speeding until the ticket flagging their violation comes in the mail.

That's the protocol listed in recently-approved legislation that would authorize cameras in work zones and construction sites on Michigan highways to automate traffic enforcement. Or put another way, a camera will play the role of police in some parts of the state.

"We are not looking to catch people in a gotcha moment. This is about safety, this is about saving people’s lives," said state Rep. Matt Koleszar (D-Plymouth).

Koleszar is talking about HB 4132, which passed the Michigan House by a 67-42 vote last week. If signed into law, it would authorize a 'photo-cop' - cameras in construction zones that track the speeds of vehicles.

If vehicles are flagged going 10 mph over the limit, a ticket would be mailed to the vehicle owner's residence.

EXPLAINER: Michigan weighs work zones cameras to catch speeders, slow traffic

The legislation is stirring debate about the role that cameras should play in road enforcement.

"There’s so many people driving around our city crazy," said one driver.

But others think it's a cash grab by the government. 

"I have the utmost respect for anyone whose had to deal with the loss of a family member to unfortunate circumstances of a motorist," said motorist Jamal M. "However, we as a society have a contract with each other and that's really what we're talking about here and honestly, this is a betrayal of that contract to us as a whole.

"Putting a system there that has anything to do with automatic makes it about money. It's not even about the safety of construction workers," he said.

The bill is modeled off a similar law that went into effecting Maryland, Koleszar said.

"What they found was over a three-year span, they found that speeding was reduced by 80% and they found fatalities due to accidents in these work zones were down by 50%," he said.

Preliminary information from the Michigan Department of Transportation shows there were nearly 4,400 crashes in work zones in 2022 with 16 incidents ending in a fatality.

It was sent to the state Senate on June 22.