Salem City Council Renews Expanded Camera Traffic Law Enforcement Push

SALEM, MA — The Salem City Council renewed its push for expanded use of cameras and automated radar to enforce speeding and other traffic violations on Thursday after the state legislature passed a long-stagnant bill that allows for citations to be issued to drivers passing school buses stopped to pick up or drop off students based solely on bus arm-camera evidence.

The Salem bill would also allow for camera and automated radar evidence to be used in issuing and enforcing speeding in school zones, with several Councilors advocating for the use of cameras to enforce a wider range of traffic violations across the Witch City in the future.

• Peabody, Salem Bus Camera Safety Campaign Moves Law To Governor's Desk

The home-rule petition submission must pass through Beacon Hill for the city to be able to enforce it, with Thursday's Salem vote authorizing a re-submission of a previous petition that expired at the end of the last legislative session.

"The use of automated enforcement in school zones will do one thing — make it safer for students going to and from school," City Councilor Patti Morsillo said. "Massachusetts is just one of only a handful of states that do not allow automated enforcement of speeding and red light violations. The use of cameras to enforce traffic laws has proven to be effective. Automated enforcement is equitable — bias or targeting does not enter the equation."

Morsillo said the home-rule petition stipulates that violations will be mailed to the owner of the vehicle caught on camera if the speed recorded is 10 miles per hour or more beyond the speed limit. The violation would not go on the driver's record for insurance purposes but must be paid to avoid additional fees and prior to license renewal.

"This is not an attempt to raise money by the city," Morsillo said. "The funds collected from violations will be used for road safety projects and education. And all camera locations will have signs in advance of the camera to alert drivers."

A school bus camera pilot program designed to quantify the rates of drivers not stopping for buses loading and unloading students identified nearly 1,100 violations across the Witch City in the opening two months of school in 2024. That data was similar to what was recorded when Peabody instituted a similar pilot program last year and helped lead to the passage of the school bus-arm camera law at the end of last month.

• 'Huge Safety Issue': Salem Bus Camera Pilot Captures 1,100 Violations

Morsillo called the data recorded in Salem and Peabody "embarrassing and alarming."

"For the lives of school children we need this type of enforcement," she said.

City Councilor Caroline Watson-Felt was among the Councilors who advocated for even more automated traffic enforcement down the road.

"It's just not enough," she said. "I hope that passing this through the state with positive support would then open up the door for additional incremental camera-based enforcement when it comes to traffic. We have seen a massive increase in the running of red lights. We've seen a massive increase in illegal turns. We've seen a massive increase in not stopping when there is a (crosswalk).

"I don't know what happened — we've talked about it a lot in this chamber — but coming out of COVID both walkers and drivers, everybody, just forgot how to do things. And, unfortunately, when you are the one who is driving a two-ton vehicle you are the one — and should be the one — hugely responsible for the safety of everyone else around you."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)