‘Jake’s Law’ Could Prevent Work Zone Tragedy in Yorktown and Beyond

YORKTOWN. N.Y. — Local officials are urging the state legislature to pass “Jake’s Law,” a measure that would allow the town to use safety cameras to deter motorists from speeding or driving recklessly in work zones and punish those who do.

Jake’s Law is named for Jake Arcara, a 28-year-old Yorktown highway worker killed by a driver in September 2022 while he was directing traffic on a town road.

Sponsored by assemblymembers Matt Slater and Dana Levenberg and state Sen. Pete Harckham, Jakes Law (A.9283A / S.9304) will authorize the town to deploy safety cameras in work zones and fine drivers who break traffic laws.

If passed it would be the first law of its kind in the state and would give Yorktown the ability to install and operate a monitoring system with a photo speed camera, as well as impose monetary liability on speeders. The lawmakers said the legislation was inspired by the Automated Work Zone Speed Monitoring Pilot Program launched in April 2023 by the state Department of Transportation (DOT) and New York State Thruway Authority (NYSTA).

At a May 11 press conference at the Yorktown Highway Department announcing the proposed legislation, Slater said more had to be done to protect highway workers and added that he’d witnessed firsthand as supervisor how drivers disregard the safety of those repairing their roads.

“All these people are out there doing a job,” Slater said. “And when you see how they’re treated, when you see how they’re disrespected; when you see how reckless people are in their cars—driving inches away from them for no good reason—there’s more that needs to be done.”

Harckham said naming the law for Jake Arcara is appropriate because of the role played by Jake’s mother Kelly in getting it off the ground.

“I want to give Kelly so much credit, turning her mourning and her pain into purpose,” Harckham said at the press conference. “And she is the one who’s been the leader on this. She came to Matt, she came to me and she said we have to do something in Jake’s memory so that this never happens again. And that’s why we’re calling it Jake’s Law. Because in Jake’s memory, we want to be sure that this never ever happens again.”

Speaking at the gathering, which included the three legislators along with Highway Superintendent Dave Paganelli and Supervisor Ed Lachterman, Jake’s mother Kelly Arcara said it was especially poignant to introduce legislation named for her son just before Mother’s Day.

“He touched so many lives,” Kelly Arcara said. “I’m asking everyone to somehow, some way, get a law passed” to protect highway workers like her son.

On Monday, Slater said that while there’s support in Albany for more traffic cameras, Yorktown’s representatives in the legislature are facing resistance from the chair of the Assembly’s Transportation Committee, William Magnarelli, to include Yorktown in a state study on the effectiveness of such cameras, potentially delaying the adoption of Jake’s Law by two years.

Kelly Arcara said reaching out to those in power can help prevent another tragedy.

“I never want others to wake up every morning to start the nightmare I live every day,” she told Yorktown News. “[We need to] spread awareness and show how important this issue is—especially for those whose son, daughter, grandchildren, nephew, niece, friend who have a dangerous job on road work sites to keep them safe.”

According to a joint press release by Slater and Harckham, work zone accidents took nearly 900 lives in the U.S. in 2022 and injured more than 37,000. In New York alone, seven highway workers lost their lives in roadside accidents in 2021 and another seven in 2022. Gov. Hochul unveiled a memorial honoring New York’s fallen highway workers at the 2021 New York State Fair.

“Every day, hard-working men and women like Jake Acara go to work and are recklessly killed or injured by distracted drivers,” Slater said. “Jake’s Law, which should be a statewide initiative, will give an added layer of protection to our municipal workers in an effort to avoid another senseless tragedy.”

Numerous studies have shown cameras to be an effective deterrent against speeding and reckless driving. The presence of cameras reduces accidents and road fatalities. According to a 2020 CBS News report, traffic cameras reduced speeding by 70 percent when deployed in New York City.

“We need this legislation, spurred by Jake Acara’s senseless death while serving his community, passed and signed into law, so we can purposely work to save lives, both in Yorktown and statewide, in the future,” said Harckham. “It’s crucial that we identify reckless and accident-prone drivers while we can, and also ensure there is accountability following accidents that result in grave injuries or deaths.”

Levenberg said the law will make Yorktown safer.  

“We can’t have safe, smooth roads if we don’t have safe work zones,” she said.

Lachterman and Paganelli both urged state officials to act quickly.

“This is not a party issue, this is a human being and safety issue,” Lachterman said. “I hope Albany can see that this is a law that needs to be passed.”

Paganelli added that the loss of Arcara was still being felt by the Highway Department and said the cameras could prevent another work zone tragedy.

“Since the tragic day when Jake was killed, we have worked with the Yorktown Police Department to take extra measures to protect our workers, such as closing down the street while our crews are out working,” Paganelli said. “While this has helped, in the past year there have been multiple times drivers have still violated work zones. Jake’s law will help keep our workers safe as they do their jobs and keep drivers accountable.”