States Have Mixed Feelings on Speed Cameras

While some states and cities are embracing automated traffic enforcement as a tool for improving road safety, others are banning the technology over concerns that the programs are designed for profit rather than public benefit.

1 minute read

February 25, 2025, 7:00 AM PST

By Diana Ionescu @aworkoffiction


Three speed cameras aimed down at a busy freeway with blurred traffic at twilight.

Sampajano-Anizza / Adobe Stock

The growing movement to use automated traffic cameras to enforce road rules is coming up against opposition from some local officials and drivers who see the programs as a “cash grab” rather than a true safety effort. To date, at least eight U.S. states have laws banning speed cameras. Some states are regulating camera vendors to ensure they are not profiting from citations and that revenue is going to pedestrian safety projects. 

However, cameras have been shown to work. New York City issued over 400,000 tickets to drivers who block or park in bus lanes since its automated enforcement program began. In Philadelphia, excessive speeding dropped by 90 percent after the city installed cameras along one particularly dangerous road segment.

According to Kamron Clifford of mobility analytics firm Arity, “While speed cameras can be frustrating, they are a proven tool for reducing traffic fatalities and raising awareness of risky driving behaviors.” But road design, pedestrian infrastructure, and other interventions are also key parts of the broader effort to eliminate road deaths.

Monday, February 24, 2025 in Route Fifty

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Wastewater pouring out from a pipe.

Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage

Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”

April 13, 2025 - Inside Climate News

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

April 16, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Black and white photos of camp made up of small 'earthquake shacks' in Dolores Park in 1906 after the San Francisco earthquake.

The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees

More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?

April 15, 2025 - Charles F. Bloszies

People walking up and down stairs in New York City subway station.

In Both Crashes and Crime, Public Transportation is Far Safer than Driving

Contrary to popular assumptions, public transportation has far lower crash and crime rates than automobile travel. For safer communities, improve and encourage transit travel.

April 18 - Scientific American

White public transit bus with bike on front bike rack in Nashville, Tennessee.

Report: Zoning Reforms Should Complement Nashville’s Ambitious Transit Plan

Without reform, restrictive zoning codes will limit the impact of the city’s planned transit expansion and could exclude some of the residents who depend on transit the most.

April 18 - Bloomberg CityLab

An engineer controlling a quality of water ,aerated activated sludge tank at a waste water treatment plant.

Judge Orders Release of Frozen IRA, IIJA Funding

The decision is a victory for environmental groups who charged that freezing funds for critical infrastructure and disaster response programs caused “real and irreparable harm” to communities.

April 18 - Smart Cities Dive