Resolution in Support of the Use of Automated Enforcement Devices to Reduce Injuries and Fatalities on our Nation’s Road Exposed

The Resolution in Support of the use of Automated Enforcement Devices to Reduce Injuries and Fatalities on our Nation's Road was considered by ALEC's Public Safety and Elections Task Force at the 2011 States and Nation Policy Summit on December 2, 2011. This bill was part of the ALEC task force agenda between 2010 and 2012, but due to incomplete information, it is not known if the bill passed in a vote by legislators and lobbyists at ALEC task force meetings, if ALEC sought to distance itself from the bill as the public increased scrutiny of its pay-to-play activities, or if key operative language from the bill has been introduced by an ALEC legislator in a state legislature in the ensuing period or became binding law.

ALEC Draft Bill Text

Summary

Allows automated enforcement programs to be established by state legislatures as a means to provide enforcement in high risk locations or in situations when law enforcement manpower is unavailable.

Model Resolution

WHEREAS, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in 2009, more than 11,000 people were killed and hundreds of thousands injured in speed and red light running related crashes; and

WHEREAS, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that the economic cost of speed-related crashes is $40.4 billion each year, $76,865 per minute or $1,281 per second; and

WHEREAS, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), red-light running is the leading cause of urban crashes and speed is a factor in about one-third of all fatal crashes; and

WHEREAS, a February 2011 study, IIHS estimated that red-light safety cameras saved 159 lives from 2004-2008 in 14 of the largest U.S. cities where cameras were used. Up to 815 deaths could have been prevented had cameras been used in all large U.S. cities. Additionally, red light running fatalities were reduced by 24 percent in cities where cameras were deployed; and

WHEREAS, more people are injured in crashes involving red-light running than in any other type of crash. Red-light running crashes are estimated to cost the public upwards of $14 billion annually; and

WHEREAS, nationally, more than 650 communities in more than 25 states and the District of Columbia employ the use of automated enforcement programs at intersections, in construction work zones to improve safety for transportation workers, and on school buses and in school zones to protect children; and

WHEREAS, public opinion surveys have shown that the vast majority of Americans support automated enforcement programs as reasonable means to enforce local traffic laws so as to allow police officers to patrol neighborhoods and fight violent criminals; and

WHEREAS, the National Research Council has recommended that states should enact enabling legislation allowing for automated enforcement to help ensure public safety where such legislation contains proper safeguards; and

WHEREAS, the states of Florida and Texas recently enacted enabling legislation providing local law enforcement and communities the option of establishing automated enforcement programs, defining for its use and citizen protections; and

WHEREAS, the Sixth and Seventh Circuit Courts of Appeals have validated the use of automated enforcement programs, affirming their use as constitutional and holding that substantive due process depends on the existence of a fundamental liberty interest–and “no one has a fundamental right to run a red light or avoid being seen by a camera on a public street;” and

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), in promotion of public safety, supports the use of automated enforcement devices with appropriate safeguards to help reduce red light running and speed related injuries and fatalities in our cities and neighborhoods; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that ALEC supports safe, efficient and innovative solutions to public safety, including local governments’ ability to work in public-private partnership to enforce traffic laws; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that ALEC supports the establishment of automated enforcement programs not as revenue generators, but as a means to provide enforcement in high risk locations or in situations when law enforcement manpower is unavailable, difficult to utilize safely, or needed for other priorities; ensures personal responsibility by holding violators accountable for their actions; and preserves law-abiding citizens’ personal liberties from otherwise intrusive government; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that ALEC supports legislation that contains safeguards such as a required engineering and safety studies; standardization of signal timing, including appropriate yellow times as outlined by the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices; public awareness and education, including appropriate signage when approaching intersections where camera systems are installed; law enforcement officer review and approval of each violation prior to issuance; and appropriate vendor flat rate and fee collection systems to ensure the primary use of the technology as a law enforcement force multiplier instead of as a revenue generating system.