Arizona Slams the Brakes on Automated Traffic Enforcement

Arizona voters approved Proposition 319, barring state and local agencies from installing new photo-enforced traffic cameras after 31 December 2026. The measure limits expansion of automated enforcement amid concerns about fines, privacy and accountability, while leaving the cameras’ effect on road safety contested.

Existing programmes can continue only if approved by voters at the next general election and renewed every ten years. Phoenix’s revived photo radar programme issued more than 65,000 citations in its first few months, with about $1.67 million paid; its contractor receives $612,000 a year for 17 units plus $20 per citation. Supporters of cameras cite studies reporting fewer red-light crashes, while critics point to possible increases in other collisions and argue that road design and other factors also affect safety.