Speed safety cameras save lives
– Allow use of this proven technology
Vote YES to advance Legislative Document (LD) 1457
The Issue:
- Traffic crashes are a deadly and costly threat to Maine families that require urgent attention and action.
- In 2024, of the 177 traffic fatalities in the state, 24 percent were speeding related.
- Traffic fatalities in Maine were 13 percent higher in 2024 compared to 2015.
- Traffic crashes cause nearly $1.9 billion of economic damage to Maine annually which is equivalent to a “crash tax” of $1,396 per resident and exceeds the national average of $1,035, according to a 2019 analysis. When updated for inflation alone, in 2026, costs would equate to approximately $2.4 billion.
The Solution: Speed Safety Cameras
- LD 1457 would allow the Maine Turnpike Authority to do a speed safety camera pilot program at up to three work zone locations at a given time on the Maine Turnpike.
- Most states permit speed safety cameras.
- 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.
- A study by Carnegie Mellon University of speed safety cameras in Philadelphia, PA found a 90 percent reduction in speeding and an approximately 50 percent decrease in crashes and injuries relative to comparable roads that did not have speed safety cameras in Philadelphia.
- A study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) found that speed safety cameras alone resulted in a 19 percent reduction in the likelihood that a crash caused a fatal or incapacitating injury.
- The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) found that automated speed enforcement reduces fatalities and injuries by 20-37 percent and is particularly effective in work and school zones.
- Small increases in speed cause serious declines in safety. Crash tests show that speed upticks of even five to ten miles-per-hour (mph) greatly escalate a driver’s risk of injury or death.
- Speed increases also immensely impact pedestrians and other vulnerable road users (VRUs) like workers in a highway construction zone. The average risk of death for a pedestrian is 10 percent at an impact speed of 23 mph, 25 percent at 32 mph, and 50 percent at 42 mph.
- Pennsylvania implemented a pilot program for speed safety cameras in highway work zones and the program reduced overall speeding by 38 percent, excessive speeding by 47 percent, and crashes by 15-50 percent. The program was so successful that it was made permanent.
- Law enforcement officers risk their lives when performing their duties on the roadways every day, and it is implausible for them to be everywhere for every violation. Speed safety cameras augment traditional enforcement without requiring a traffic stop.
- Enacting the speed safety camera pilot program in LD 1457 would deter speeding while providing much needed protection to vulnerable construction workers as well as drivers navigating though work zones.
Support LD 1457 to improve safety and save lives!