Speed Cameras in the Chicagoland area

 

Well the summer construction season has arrived in the Chicago area and they are starting to use speed cameras in the freeway construction areas, that started 7/1/10 and there is no leniency 1 mile over and you get sent a ticket. Not sure what the costs are but I hear the first one is about $375 and the second is $1000 so beware in the construction areas.

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Legs

?

Which expressway?

I'm skeptical

There's a press release to this effect this every summer, but truth be told, Illinois has made very limited actual use of this kind of enforcement in previous years. They'll put the camera vans out in one construction zone for a day or two and then take them down for the rest of the summer. If Illinois ever wants to close its insane state budget deficit, I could see that changing, but I'll await some actual sustained sightings before spreading the fear, uncertainty, and doubt.

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JMoo On

I'm in the peoples republic

I'm in the peoples republic of IL...home of the undocumented president.

Its nothing but a big revenue grab out here!
More cops out there and more 'safety checkpoints' (for your own good of course!)
And of course they have been putting up more and more RLC...

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Nuvi 350 Born Oct 07 - Nuvi 660 Unit #2 (re)Born Sept 08 - Nuvi 360(Gift to 'the chick' yet maintained by myself) Born July 08

It's wonderful that

It's wonderful that everything is "under construction" while the construction workers are on strike. It doesn't seem right that they're going to enforce a 45 mph speed limit when there's no work being done. I do understand that in IL, they still want you to go 45 whether there are workers or not, but still. The whole strike thing during the peak of the construction season makes it even worse.

Every year they say the same

Every year I get the same forwarded email. This year they even pointed to the snopes page saying it's true but I cannot find a personal experience from anyone actually receiving a ticket. Every year I search for info on it so I know what I'm looking for. This year is the first time I've found anything that even closely resembles a legitimate eye-witness account of one of these cameras and it doesn't sound like they're using them around Cook county.
http://www.fox2now.com/news/ktvi-il-construction-camera-tick...
I thought it was an interesting read but I take it with a grain of salt. If the article is accurate it certainly doesn't sound like the mythical speed cameras hidden in construction equipment and mysterious white vans we hear tales of...

What a great bargaining chip

twix wrote:

It's wonderful that everything is "under construction" while the construction workers are on strike. It doesn't seem right that they're going to enforce a 45 mph speed limit when there's no work being done. I do understand that in IL, they still want you to go 45 whether there are workers or not, but still. The whole strike thing during the peak of the construction season makes it even worse.

Sounds like a leverage ploy on the part of the construction workers, what better way to get everyone to the bargaining table. it's a genius move on the part of labor. If the lanes are funneled down and made dangerous, then I can see the reason for the lower speed even though there is a strike and no workers.

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Using Android Based GPS.The above post and my sig reflects my own opinions, expressed for the purpose of informing or inspiring, not commanding. Naturally, you are free to reject or embrace whatever you read.

Math

BobDee wrote:

Sounds like a leverage ploy on the part of the construction workers, what better way to get everyone to the bargaining table. it's a genius move on the part of labor. If the lanes are funneled down and made dangerous, then I can see the reason for the lower speed even though there is a strike and no workers.

The strike is over! It was three weeks in total. Not too bad, but some projects might be affected.

Yeah, lower speed is fine. Enforcing it by issuing tickets when workers are on strike, not fine. I'm not sure if that even happened, but it would be slightly unfair.

Construction zone speed enforcement

I did not notice or overhear enforcement of the 45 mph construction zone speed limit during the strike. I'm not talking about somebody going 85 mph. That guy would deserve a ticket. I'm talking about somebody going 50 mph in the construction zone and getting a $375 ticket for that. Didn't hear about or see any of that the past few weeks when workers were on strike, which of course doesn't mean it didn't happen, but I think they were cutting motorists some slack out there. Usually, Illinois does not enforce 45 mph construction zone speed limits strictly except where there are workers present and people blow by clearly marked police cars. They're allowed to enforce it strictly even with no workers, but usually don't.

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JMoo On

Constrution camera's

They are 'roving' camera's and rotated among the construction zones.

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CRNJR

Watch out!

I'm glad you resurrected this thread! Just today in the Chicago Tribune, there was this editorial.

"Tollway monitoring

A few months ago, I received an email from the Illinois Tollway. It stated that that since I was a frequent driver on Interstate Highway 90 that I should be aware of the 45-mph speed limit in the construction zone and maintain that speed. Well no one from the Illinois Tollway has tried to drive that area because you will get killed at 45 with trucks and others going more than 55, not 45.

But that is not the problem I have with the email. It is the fact that the Illinois Tollway is monitoring where I drive. The only thing it should be monitoring is if my I-PASS has enough money and if it is working. Nothing else.

Richard Smart, Carpentersville"

It is so hard to drive 45 in the construction zone. I'm avoiding 90 until the construction is over. I can't handle the pressure of trying to go the speed limit, when everyone behind me wants to go way faster.