As of July 2023, 335 communities operated red-light cameras and 195 deployed speed cameras, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. From 2018 to 2022, states enacted more than 50 laws related to automated traffic enforcement. However, as of July 2021, 11 states have prohibited or restricted cameras. While the popularity of red light cameras peaked in 2012, the number of speed cameras is on the rise…

It’s not just that drivers dislike getting a ticket in the mail. Communities worry about widespread surveillance and how license plate data can be used. In Chicago, a ProPublica analysis found that residents in majority Black and Latino neighborhoods got twice as many red light tickets as those in White areas.

In a 2021 paper, University of Texas at Austin researchers found that camera deployments happened with limited involvement of the local communities, fostering concerns about police surveillance.