LANSING, Mich. — Legislation recently introduced by Sen. Lana Theis would prohibit municipalities from installing so-called red-light cameras to issue traffic citations in the state.
“Red-light cameras are not about motorist safety. They are cynical revenue grabs, often riddled with corruption with no benefit for the greater good,” said Theis, R-Brighton. “What’s more important, red-light cameras violate motorists’ constitutional rights, and studies show that they even increase traffic accidents. Red-light cameras are the definition of government overreach, and we should keep them off our streets.”
Twenty-one states and Washington, D.C. currently allow red-light cameras, but recent guidance from the Biden Administration cleared the way for more cameras to be installed under the newly-signed federal infrastructure law.
Senate Bill 875 stipulates that photographic traffic signal enforcement systems must not be used to enforce Section 612 of the Michigan Vehicle Code and that any citation issued on the basis of a recorded image produced by a photographic traffic signal enforcement system would be void.
The bill was referred to the Senate Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for consideration.
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