Advocates has sent a letter to the Senate Committee on Ways and Means in support of Senate Bill (SB) 2344/House Bill (HB) 3754 to allow municipalities to use speed and red light safety cameras. Automated enforcement (AE) is a proven technology and a vital tool to ensure roadway safety.
In 2023, 343 people were killed in traffic crashes in Massachusetts. Fatalities involving speeding increased 33 percent from 2014 to 2023, and speeding is a factor in one-third of the state’s traffic fatalities. Additionally, the Bay State incurs $7.4 billion in economic harm due to motor vehicle crashes, which is equivalent to $1,072 per resident according to a 2019 analysis. When updated for inflation alone, in 2025, costs would equate to $9.3 billion and $1,353 respectively.
Speed safety cameras are verified to deter speeding and its impact and are recommended for adoption by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), among others.
Americans are more likely to be injured in a red light running related event than any other crash. In 2022, 1,149 people were killed and an estimated 107,000 were injured in red light running crashes in the U.S.
Law enforcement risk their lives on roadways every day, and it is implausible for officers to be everywhere and catch every violation. AE augments traditional enforcement without requiring a traffic stop.
We urge the Committee to advance SB 2344/HB 3754 and to support all similar measures pending before the legislature, such as HB 4087, HB 3660 and HB 3905.
Read the full letter here.
Prior actions of support for automated enforcement include a May letter to the Joint Committee on Transportation and a June letter to the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security.