A proposal to legalize traffic cameras in some California cities passed the State Assembly and awaits approval from the State Senate, reports Steve Scauzillo in Los Angeles Daily News.
Scauzillo explains, “Assembly Bill 645, authored by Assemblymember Laura Friedman, D‑Glendale, authorizes ‘speed camera’ pilot programs in school zones and on high-injury streets with speeding problems in six cities, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Glendale, Oakland, San Jose and San Francisco.”
The bill received widespread bipartisan support in the Assembly as traffic deaths in California and around the country reach alarmingly high numbers. “In California, the pedestrian fatality rate is nearly 25% higher than the national average. In 2021 alone, 4,258 Californians died in traffic collisions, a 10.7% increase from the previous year.”
Automated enforcement is widely credited with reducing deaths and serious injuries. An Ottawa study showed a quadrupling of compliance with speed limits near one school, and “In Scottsdale, Arizona and Portland, Oregon traffic fatalities have fallen 54% since the cameras were instituted. In Washington D.C, traffic fatalities decreased by 70%.”
