On Tuesday morning, dozens of safety activists filled the halls of the Massachusetts State House to ask their lawmakers to legalize automatic camera-based enforcement systems that can more effectively hold drivers accountable to obeying basic rules of the road.
A coalition of bike, pedestrian, and motor vehicle safety advocates organized the event to support Senate bill 2344 and House bill 3754: "An Act Relative To Traffic Regulation Using Road Safety Cameras."
At least 19 other states use cameras to automatically detect and issue fines to drivers who break speed limits and run red lights. Similar bills to legalize the technology in Massachusetts have circulated in the State House since 2020.
State Senator William Brownsberger of Belmont, a lead sponsor of the Senate's current bill, told StreetsblogMASS that the concept is gaining traction among lawmakers.
"There have always been concerns, but the climate has changed," Brownsberger said. "People are tired of the lack of traffic enforcement and bad driving behavior."
Some of the most compelling testimony at Tuesday's event came from members of the new Massachusetts chapter of Families for Safe Streets.
Mary Beth Ellis, whose 5-year-old daughter, Sidney Mae Olson, died when a truck driver struck her in an Andover crosswalk in 2023, said that a red-light camera at that intersection might have saved her daughter's life.
"I think it would have changed the behavior in that intersection," Ellis said. "I know every day there are people who feel the same pain... We have the tools so that we can get to zero deaths. We just have to implement them."
Police admit they're overwhelmed
Also attending Tuesday's event were two members of the Worcester Police Department, Chief Paul Saucier and Sgt. James Foley, the department's traffic unit supervisor.
"In recent years, we've seen a clear shift in driver behavior. Drivers are more aggressive, and there are more vehicles on the road," said Foley.
"Police departments across the Commonwealth are facing staffing shortages, and our primary responsibility must remain responding to 911 calls for service," Foley continued. "That leaves limited opportunities for consistent and proactive traffic enforcement. In Worcester alone there are 208 traffic signals... Effectively monitoring even a fraction of those intersections through traditional enforcement is simply not feasible."
Paths to passage
The House version of the bill, H.3754, currently has 15 co-sponsors (listed below) and is awaiting a recommendation from the Transportation committee.
The Senate version, S.2344, currently has 5 co-sponsors, and received a favorable endorsement from 6 Senators on the Transportation committee last July.
The Senate bill now awaits a recommendation from the Senate Ways and Means committee.
For the second year in a row, the Governor's first draft for a statewide budget bill also includes language that would legalize automated speed limit safety cameras. Unlike the other proposals, the Governor's proposal would only allow cameras in construction zones and school zones.
Current House sponsors for H.3754:
- Steven Owens, 29th Middlesex (Cambridge and Watertown)
- Christine P. Barber, 34th Middlesex (Somerville and Medford)
- Samantha Montaño, 15th Suffolk (Jamaica Plain)
- Tommy Vitolo, 15th Norfolk (Brookline)
- John Francis Moran, 9th Suffolk (South End and Roxbury)
- Mike Connolly, 26th Middlesex (Cambridge and East Somerville)
- Frank A. Moran, 17th Essex (Andover and Lawrence)
- Marjorie C. Decker, 25th Middlesex (Cambridge)
- Erika Uyterhoeven, 27th Middlesex (Somerville)
- Jack Patrick Lewis, 7th Middlesex (Framingham and Ashland)
- William F. MacGregor, 10th Suffolk (West Roxbury and Roslindale)
- Steven J. Ouellette, 8th Bristol (Acushnet, Fall River, Freetown, New Bedford, Westport, and Bristol).
- Kate Donaghue, 19th Worcester (Framingham, Northborough, Southborough, and Westborough)
- Christopher J. Worrell, 5th Suffolk (Dorchester and Grove Hall)
Current Senate petitioners for S.2344:
- William Brownsberger, Allston-Brighton, Watertown, Belmont, West Cambridge
- Patricia Jehlen, Somerville, Medford, and Winchester
- Brendan Crighton, Lynn, Lynnfield, Marblehead, Nahant, Saugus and Swampscott
- Barry R. Finegold, Merrimack Valley, including Andover, Tewksbury, and Haverhill
