MONROE COUNTY, N.Y. — A speed radar camera on a state vehicle has caught dozens, maybe hundreds of people going more than 40 miles per hour on I-490 since it was set up at a construction site on Sunday.

News10NBC Chief Investigative Reporter Berkeley Brean decided to drive the route himself after receiving many angry emails about the speed trap.

The speed trap zone starts after you drive out of the S-curve on I-490 heading east, where orange construction barrels and a white SUV with yellow lights mark the location of the speed radar.

Every car, motorcycle and truck going over 40 mph faces a $50 fine if caught by the radar. Linda Olsen, who got a $50 ticket from the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) radar, initially thought it was a scam.

“I was, we were dumbfounded,” Olsen said. “I wasn’t happy. I thought this is almost close to a money grab.”

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

In January, the DOT Commissioner told state lawmakers about a driver in Irondequoit “who was clocked at going 139 miles an hour” through a work zone on Route 104.

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

The speed limit on I-490 at the photo radar site is always 40 mph, but the location is problematic as warning signs are difficult to see unless actively looking for them, especially when making a sharp right turn on the highway.

“No, no, I never saw any signs. They were not obvious signs. If they were there they were not obvious signs,” Olsen said.

The photo radar will remain at the I-490 construction site until Saturday. The state posts the locations of all 24 cameras currently set up across New York, with this being the only one in Monroe County.

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