Congressman Wants to Ban Red Light Cameras

Speed and red light cameras could be a thing of the past if Rep. Ed Perlmutter D-Golden gets his way.

The democratic U.S. representative introduced legislation earlier this month that would ban states and cities from using cameras to catch drivers speeding and disobeying traffic lights. Perlmutter argues that the cameras function solely as a revenue generator and that they don’t offer any significant enhancement to public safety. The bill is called the “Prohibited Automated Enforcement Act of 2015.”

“Police officers are the only sure way to apprehend seriously impaired, reckless or other dangerous drivers,” he wrote in a statement. “All of us are concerned with reducing accidents and reckless driving but it is not evident photo radar cameras improve highway safety, reduce accidents or improve traffic flow.”

It currently lacks a co-sponsor and the necessary support to move forward, but Perlmutter points to a study conducted by the University of Tennessee in 2013 that said the cameras don’t bring any kind of clear improvement in traffic safety.