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The state’s speed camera detects hundreds of drivers exceeding 40 mph in the I-490 construction zone, earning them fines.
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The state’s speed camera detects hundreds of drivers exceeding 40 mph in the I-490 construction zone, earning them fines.

MONROE COUNTY, N.Y. — A radar camera installed on a state vehicle has captured dozens, if not hundreds, of people driving more than 40 miles per hour on I-490 since it was installed at a construction site Sunday.

News10NBC chief investigative reporter Berkeley Brean decided to walk the route himself after receiving numerous angry emails about the speed camera.

The speed camera area begins after exiting the S-curve on eastbound I-490, where orange construction barrels and a white SUV with yellow lights mark the speed camera location.

Any car, motorcycle and truck traveling faster than 40 mph faces a $50 fine if detected by radar. Linda Olsen, who received a $50 speed camera ticket from the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), initially thought it was a scam.

“I was, we were stunned,” Olsen said. “I wasn’t happy. I thought it was almost a money grab.

This year, DOT photo radar has issued more than 132,255 tickets statewide, including more than 44,206 around Rochester. The total amount of fines paid is $5.1 million. Photo radar is part of a national transportation campaign to slow traffic at construction sites.

In January, the DOT commissioner told state lawmakers about a driver in Irondequoit “who was clocked going 139 miles per hour” in a Highway 104 work zone.

The commissioner also reported that construction crews are starting to notice a slowdown in traffic. Photo radar is being used more frequently, with 4,700 tickets issued last year to drivers passing school buses running red lights in Monroe County school districts, and 12,000 cars ticketed in 10 days when Albany used the photo radar in school speed zones.

The speed limit on I-490 at the photo radar site is still 40 mph, but the location is problematic because the warning signs are difficult to see unless you actively look for them, especially during a sharp right turn on the highway.

“No, no, I never saw a sign. These were not obvious signs. If they were there, they weren’t obvious signs,” Olsen said.

The photo radar will remain at the I-490 construction site until Saturday. The state publishes the locations of the 24 cameras currently installed in New York state, this being the only one in Monroe County..

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