PA Update – How the use of automated enforcement cameras could be evolved in scope and nature
Pennsylvania adopted the Work Zone Speed Safety Cameras program on October 19, 2018, which allowed for cameras to be installed in work zones that would detect a vehicle’s speed. When a vehicle is deemed to be traveling 11 miles-per-hour or higher over the posted speed limit, the system captures the vehicle’s information and issues a warning for first time violators. After first time offenses, a citation and a monetary fine are issued to the vehicle owner in accordance with Title 75 C.S. 3369. This was a five-year pilot program which expired in 2023 and was implemented to determine if it would reduce motor vehicle accidents within work zones. Throughout this program, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has presented data that shows there is a 15% to 50% reduction in work zone crashes where these cameras have been implemented.
Recently, on December 14, 2023, Governor Josh Shapiro enacted Act 38 of 2023 into law expanding this program to not only work zones, but along U.S. Highway 1, and Roosevelt Boulevard, as well as school zones throughout Philadelphia. This law went into effect on February 15, 2024, and made several adjustments such as a new 15-day warning period beginning on the mail date of the first violation.
Just a few months before this Act went into effect, Governor Shapiro signed SB 851 into law, enabling school buses to install cameras that record any motorist who fails to stop for a bus with flashing red lights. With this legislation, Pennsylvania has now implemented automated enforcement cameras in work zones, school zones, and on school buses. Currently there are over 1000 buses throughout the state equipped with these cameras.
Data from these programs have shown strong correlations between the implementation of the cameras, and the decrease in both motor vehicle accidents and citations. Given this data and the fact that these laws were enacted recently, it is likely that lawmakers could be looking to expand the implementation across the entire state of Pennsylvania to improve public safety. Looking around the country, nineteen (19) states plus Washington D.C. have enacted legislation implementing automated speed cameras. With numerous states enacting legislation, and Pennsylvania seeing promising results, there is a good chance that some more bi-partisan legislation will be proposed in the Pennsylvania General Assembly to expand on what already exists.
