Automated Traffic Enforcement Systems in Iowa Legislature
As discussions pick up again over the role of automated traffic enforcement systems in Iowa, it is important for Iowans to understand what these systems are, what they do, and how much money they generate. Thanks to the work of the non-partisan Legislative Services Agency, many of these questions can now be answered.
Under Iowa law, automated traffic enforcement systems are officially known as “automated or remote system for traffic law enforcement”. In much of the discussion at the Capitol, they are referred to as ATE’s. State law defines these as a camera or other optical device designed to work in conjunction with an official traffic control signal or speed-measuring device to identify motor vehicles operating in violation of traffic laws, the use of which results in the issuance of citations sent through the mail or by electronic means. To the average person, these are speed cameras used to reduce the incidence of speeding in a specific location or a red-light camera who catch people running red lights.
Some of these ATE are mobile, moving around a community to certain streets and roads to deter speeding in the area. Most ATE systems deployed in the state are in a permanent location. In most situations, the systems are operated by an outside vendor which retains a portion of the paid fines as payment for equipping and operating the system.
The Legislative Services Agency identified 25 communities at the start of 2024 were using an ATE system for traffic control of some manner. These are Bellevue, Buffalo, Cedar Rapids, Chester, Council Bluffs, Davenport, Des Moines, Fayette, Fort Dodge, Hazleton, Hudson, Independence, LeClaire, Marion, Marshalltown, Miles, Muscatine, Oelwein, Postville, Prairie City, Sioux City, Strawberry Point, Waterloo, Webster City, and West Union. There are other communities who are reported to be considering placing an ATE system on a roadway in or around their city.
LSA was able to get additional information from ten of the communities currently using ATE systems for traffic law enforcement. They were able to get details on the amount of the base fine, number of violations, and amount of revenue generated for the community and their vendor. A picture of those results can be found at the end of my newsletter. |