Ten years ago, speeding cameras like the ones that may soon dot sections of Highway 395 first appeared in Scottsdale, Arizona.

After a successful pilot program, the cameras popped up almost everywhere. Chicago Bulls player Derrick Rose, who was the team’s number one draft pick that year, was one of the first high-profile drivers to be nabbed; he was eventually fined over $1,000 for travelling at more than 100mph on a Chicago freeway. In terms of safety, the debate quickly narrowed to gross speeding and speed variance. On the one hand, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that cameras reduced speeding up to 90 percent in some places, and as speed is a factor in about a third of car crashes, the crash totals went down as well.

In the other corner, wearing blue trunks with red stripes, engineers from the Best Highway Safety Practices Institute said that speeding cameras caused drivers to slam on their brakes and disrupted the flow of traffic, causing more crashes than were prevented.

Issues in Camera Enforcement

The cost efficiency is what really makes photo enforcement attractive to cities and counties. Instead of paying an officer to write four or five tickets an hour, a camera can theoretically issue four or five citations a minute, with virtually no cost to the city other than a percentage of the revenue generated.

Speeding cameras seemed like the next big thing five or six years ago, but all the negative fallout over red light cameras delayed things somewhat. Nevertheless, as states like California grow their government and need more revenue, it’s probably only a matter of time before the Legislature tries to amend speed trap law to allow speeding cameras.

Getting Legal Help

The aggressive attorneys at Bigger & Harman, APC, are committed to giving individuals a voice when dealing with speeding and traffic tickets. Call today at 661-349-9300 or email attorney@markbigger.com to receive the personal professional attention you deserve. En español, llame al 661-349-9755.