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Speed safety and red light cameras are proven lifesavers – Preserve use in Virginia
Vote NO on Senate Bill (SB) 297 and SB 306!
The Issue:
- Traffic crashes are a deadly and costly threat to Virginia families that require urgent attention and action.
- In 2024, an estimated 910 people were killed on Virginia roads, representing a 21 percent increase in traffic fatalities since 2015.
- Speeding is a major contributor to traffic fatalities – 35 percent of deaths in 2023 (321 people killed) involved speeding. Virginia’s proportion of speeding-related fatalities is much higher than the national average of 29 percent.
- In 2023, 1,086 people were killed and more than 135,000 were injured in red light running crashes in the United States. In fact, 25 percent of drivers admit to running a red light in the past 30 days even though 83 percent of Americans believe that doing so is “very” or “extremely” dangerous.
- Virginia incurs approximately $6.5 billion in economic harm annually due to motor vehicle crashes, which is equivalent to $756 per resident each year according to a 2019 analysis. When updated for inflation alone costs would equate to $8.15 billion in 2025 dollars.
- These bills take away the already limited authority for state and local law enforcement to use speed safety cameras and for local governing bodies to use red light safety cameras. This ability should be retained so these entities can use proven, lifesaving systems to protect their citizens.
The Solution:
- 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.
- Most states, including neighboring Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee and the District of Columbia permit speed safety cameras.
- 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.
- Small increases in speed cause serious declines in safety. Crash tests show that speed upticks of even five to ten miles-perhour (mph) greatly escalate a driver’s risk of injury or death.
- Speed increases immensely impact pedestrians and other vulnerable road users (VRUs). 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.
- 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 speed safety cameras reduce fatalities and injuries by 20-37 percent and is particularly effective in school and construction zones.
- 23 states, including neighboring Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee and the District of Columbia, permit red light safety cameras.
- IIHS found that rates of fatal red light running crashes were 21 percent lower and all fatal crashes were 14 percent lower at signalized intersections in cities with red light camera programs. Conversely, cities that took down their red light safety cameras experienced a 30 percent increase in deadly red light running crashes and a 16 percent increase in fatal crashes at
signalized intersections overall. - An IIHS study in Arlington, Virginia, found significant reductions in red light violations at camera intersections one year after ticketing began. These reductions were greater the more time had passed since the light turned red, when violations are more likely to result in crashes.
Preserving Speed Safety Camera and Red Light Safety Camera Use Will Protect Virginians and Keep Families Whole—Vote NO on SB 297 and SB 306!