Thousands of Washington motorists have been caught speeding through highway work zones by new cameras the state deployed this year.

Since the cameras turned on in April , the Washington State Patrol says they’ve been used to issue 7,599 infractions, with nearly 4,000 more being processed, as of last week.

But only 262 of those thousands have resulted in fines, according to state patrol. First-time violators don’t have to pay anything, but the next infraction carries a $248 penalty.

Starting next July, drivers won’t get a grace period. The first violation will bring a $125 penalty, followed by $248 for subsequent offenses.

Washington averages over 1,300 work zone crashes annually, according to the state Department of Transportation. Last year, seven people were killed in crashes in

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