Traffic-Camera Fines From Out-Of-State Could Be Blocked By NJ Bill

NEW JERSEY — New Jersey stopped ticketing for violations caught on red-light cameras eight years ago. Residents could soon have the same protections outside of the state.

A bill that advanced in the State Senate would prohibit the state from disclosing New Jersey driver's license holders' info from states seeking to issue speed camera or red-light camera citations. The legislation cleared a committee Monday, setting it up for a full Senate vote.

State Sen. Declan O'Scanlon (R-13), who introduced the bill in January, claimed that traffic cameras don't improve safety, but they do rip money away from drivers.

"For those who suggest ‘don’t speed or run red lights and you won’t get tickets,’ I call BS," O'Scanlon said in a statement. "These systems only make money when safety and engineering criteria regarding yellow light times and speed limits are ignored. There are multi-lane highways — designed for 65 mph speed — posted at 45, or less, virtually ensuring every driver will be ticketed. No one should fall for these corrupt companies’ claims."

O'Scanlon sponsored bills that would do the same in past legislative sessions, going back to 2014. In 2016, the legislation passed the Senate with a 38-0 vote.

The bills never made it into law. But O'Scanlon's most recent measure has three Democratic sponsors and bipartisan support from the four-member Senate Law and Public Safety Committee.

Under the bill, the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission and other state entities would withhold a driver's personal information — such as their name, address, phone number, photograph, Social Security number and driver's license number — from out-of-state authorities.

"Residents should not have to worry about receiving a ticket from a device that is not allowed in their home state," said State Senator Nicholas Sacco (D-32), one of the bill's sponsors. "This bill would ensure the privacy of New Jersey drivers' information, safeguarding them from receiving any more tickets of this kind."

New Jersey ended its red-light camera program in 2014 after lawmakers and then-Gov. Chris Christie didn't renew a five-year pilot program that set them up at 73 intersections in 24 towns.

Several studies of red-light camera programs have shown them to effectively prevent drivers from running red lights but not in reducing accidents, according to Scientific American. In fact, drivers' attempts to stop create a higher risk of different types of accidents, such as getting rear-ended, according to the research.