Post by Logan on Jan 26, 2017 22:48:49 GMT -6
Traffic ticket cameras would stay under competing Iowa Senate bill
Less than 24 hours after an Iowa Senate panel advanced a bill banning traffic enforcement cameras, another legislative panel approved a different bill Thursday that would allow Iowa cities and counties to keep them.
The latest measure, Senate Study Bill 1019, would allow red light cameras and speed enforcement cameras to remain in Iowa in high-risk and high-crash locations with approval of the Iowa Department of Transportation. The measure would also require that money collected by cities and counties from automated traffic enforcement citations — minus expenses — be used for local road construction projects.
Police chiefs in Cedar Rapids and Des Moines both strongly endorsed continued use of the automated traffic enforcement equipment, saying that data clearly show they reduce crashes, save lives and prevent injuries.
"I am speaking in favor of this bill. The No. 1 reason is the safety aspect," said Cedar Rapids Police Chief Wayne Jerman. He said now would be the wrong time to eliminate traffic enforcement cameras, noting that Iowa traffic deaths rose dramatically last year, when 403 people died on the state's roads.
Read more: www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2017/01/26/traffic-ticket-cameras-would-stay-under-competing-iowa-senate-bill/97079366/
Less than 24 hours after an Iowa Senate panel advanced a bill banning traffic enforcement cameras, another legislative panel approved a different bill Thursday that would allow Iowa cities and counties to keep them.
The latest measure, Senate Study Bill 1019, would allow red light cameras and speed enforcement cameras to remain in Iowa in high-risk and high-crash locations with approval of the Iowa Department of Transportation. The measure would also require that money collected by cities and counties from automated traffic enforcement citations — minus expenses — be used for local road construction projects.
Police chiefs in Cedar Rapids and Des Moines both strongly endorsed continued use of the automated traffic enforcement equipment, saying that data clearly show they reduce crashes, save lives and prevent injuries.
"I am speaking in favor of this bill. The No. 1 reason is the safety aspect," said Cedar Rapids Police Chief Wayne Jerman. He said now would be the wrong time to eliminate traffic enforcement cameras, noting that Iowa traffic deaths rose dramatically last year, when 403 people died on the state's roads.
Read more: www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2017/01/26/traffic-ticket-cameras-would-stay-under-competing-iowa-senate-bill/97079366/