Skip to main content

Minnesota study finds support for automated speed enforcement

A recent study by the University of Minnesota found strong support for automated speed enforcement, particularly in work zones and school zones and if revenues from fines are dedicated for road safety programs. Presenting the findings, Frank Douma, associate director of the State and Local Policy Program in the Humphrey School of Public Affairs said automated speed enforcement has been deployed in fourteen states and in many countries, especially in Europe. Automated speed enforcement is proven to be an ef
December 14, 2012 Read time: 3 mins
A recent study by the 584 University of Minnesota found  strong support for automated speed enforcement, particularly in work zones and school zones and if revenues from fines are dedicated for road safety programs.

Presenting the findings, Frank Douma, associate director of the State and Local Policy Program in the Humphrey School of Public Affairs said automated speed enforcement has been deployed in fourteen states and in many countries, especially in Europe.

Automated speed enforcement is proven to be an effective strategy for reducing speeding and improving road safety. Its use in the United States, however, has been limited in part because of a perception by policymakers that it is unpopular and controversial.

Automated speed enforcement uses radar and cameras to identify a speeding vehicle and capture images of the licence plates, and, in some systems, the driver. Citations are then mailed to the vehicle’s registered owner or, alternatively, the identified driver.

In a survey of more than 600 Minnesotans earlier this year, the University of Minnesota team found that a majority (56 percent) either are very supportive (20 percent) or somewhat supportive (36 percent) of the concept of automated speed enforcement, which is in line with national surveys. Support is even higher for using automated speed enforcement in specific, limited locations, such as construction zones where workers are endangered (83 percent net support), on roads near schools (82 percent net support), on roads where many have died (77 percent net support), and on roads where many people violate speed limits (69 percent net support). However, support for using automated speed enforcement on all Minnesota roads falls just below the majority threshold, at 48 percent net support.

In addition, about seven in ten Minnesotans indicated they would be more likely to support automated speed enforcement if the money raised from speeding tickets were used for local road safety improvements or if tickets were issued only to those driving at extreme speeds, Douma said.

The researchers also examined the legal and related political obstacles for deploying ASE in Minnesota, including a state supreme court ruling that invalidated a Minneapolis red-light photo enforcement ordinance. The court’s ruling was narrow, Douma explained, and did not bar automated enforcement generally or the concept of owner liability.

Moving forward, Douma said deploying automated speed enforcement in Minnesota would require authorising legislation, particularly to clarify liability issues and the role of local authorities. The researchers recommend that if legislation were drafted to authorise pilot testing of automated speed enforcement, it should focus on school zones and MnDOT work zones.

State Senator Kathy Sheran said the research findings and recommendations provide the groundwork for shaping potential legislation. “We’re beginning to work on the design of legislation in order to do what we need to do to authorise a pilot,” she said. “We’re exploring, and we’re learning from other states.”

Related Content

  • April 29, 2014
    Speed cameras approved for New York, Long Island
    New York’s Assembly has passed legislation that will see the installation of speed cameras in school zones in New York and Long Island.
  • January 31, 2012
    Enforcement a key part of the road safety solution
    The Partnership for Advancing Road Safety is a new organisation set up in the US to push the national debate on speed and intersection safety, something which hitherto has been absent. Here, executive director David Kelly explains the organisation's work. With moves to address drink/drug driving and the wearing of seatbelts starting to prove successful in the US, the use of inappropriate speed and poor driving at intersections have become responsible for a proportionately greater number of the deaths and in
  • March 29, 2017
    When speed compliance becomes a safety issue
    David Crawford finds that softly, softly can be safely, safely when it comes to speed enforcement. Comedians and controversial TV presenters have long made jokes about having to watch the speedometer so closely as they pass speed camera after speed camera that they mow down bus queues. But the joke may have some factual basis according to a study by researchers from the University of Western Australia.
  • March 12, 2015
    Survey finds speed, red light cameras divide Americans
    A new survey from free legal information website FindLaw.com found that 52 per cent of Americans support the use of radar speed cameras, while 48 per cent oppose them. Advocates say the cameras increase safety, but opponents contend they are often little more than revenue grabs by communities seeking to fill their local coffers. Interestingly, there is a split between men and women on the issue – a majority of women support the use of speed cameras while a majority of men oppose it. Ohio recently adopted a