Transportation committee discusses automated enforcement

Members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's Highways and Transit Subcommittee on June 30 heard testimony on the impacts of automated traffic enforcement.

Panelists addressed the challenges and benefits of automated enforcement, including:

• Whether automated enforcement systems should be used primarily for safety improvements or to serve as revenue generators
• A study by the Federal Highway Administration found red-light cameras save society between $39,000 and $50,000 annually

According to testimony from a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration official, in 2008, 762 people were killed and approximately 137,000 people were injured as a result of red-light running -- accounting for 2 percent of the traffic crash fatalities that year. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety testified that red-light cameras have been implemented in approximately 482 communities nationwide, and approximately 57 communities use speed cameras.