Urge lawmakers to act on automated enforcement!

On Tuesday, state lawmakers held a hearing about a bill that would greatly help municipalities enforce laws against dangerous driving.

Will you help us pass this vital bill?

The bill, An Act relative to automated enforcement (S1376), is one of the Massachusetts Vision Zero Coalition’s top legislative priorities. It would allow cities to deploy speed, school bus and red light cameras to better enforce traffic laws, a policy which has been proven to reduce speeding and unsafe driving, prevent crashes, and reduce repeat offenders — an encouraging sign of behavior change. In one study in Maryland, speeding by 10 mph or more fell by 70% in places with new automated enforcement measures. 400 cities in the U.S. have red light cameras, and 130 have speed cameras. (Learn more here.) 

We and our Vision Zero Coalition colleagues see this legislation as an important tool to reduce speeding and unsafe driving in a way that requires no direct interaction with police officers, and that includes privacy safeguards (i.e. cameras capture only license plates, not faces; data is deleted after 48 hours.)

The Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security held Tuesday’s hearing. Join us in asking the committee chairs to please move this bill on to the next step in the legislative process!

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Join us for a Day of Action at the State House

Next Wednesday, there’s another opportunity to impact important transportation policy at the state level when we join Transportation for Massachusetts and other transportation advocacy partners for a Day of Action at the State House.

Transportation funding and policy are key issues this legislative session, so it’s important for us to speak now with lawmakers and urge them to act.

Boston has some of the worst traffic congestion in the nation and crumbling public transportation infrastructure. You have the opportunity to change that by lobbying for legislation that will deprioritize single occupancy vehicle travel, prioritize climate- and people-friendly transportation, and generate funding that can be invested into public transit, biking and walking.

Join us next Wednesday to learn more about these legislative priorities, and to make your voice heard!