Bill Seeks To Block Traffic Fines For NJ Drivers In Other States

NEW JERSEY - Garden State motorists driving in other states may have additional protections from automated traffic fines under a new bill introduced Wednesday in the state Senate.

The bill, dubbed the Automated Enforcement Inoculation Act (S-3067), would bar the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission and other state agencies from providing personal information found on New Jersey drivers licenses to other states for the purposes of collecting a fine for violations captured via camera ticketing systems.

The cameras work by capturing a drivers' license plate if caught speeding, using plate information to access personal data (such as name, address, phone number and social security number) and ultimately issuing a ticket.

In New York, over 100,000 drivers were caught speeding via automated traffic cameras from April to November 2023, Gov. Kathy Hochul said last year. Fines in the Empire State start at $50 for a first violation, $75 for a second and $100 for a third. Similarly, Pennsylvania has maintained a Work Zone Speed Safety Cameras program since 2020, with drivers traveling over 11 mph the speed limit at risk of incurring fines ranging from $75 to 150.

“If New Jersey drivers want to run red lights and speed with no repercussions, they should stay out of New York City," a spokesperson for the New York City Department of Transportation told Patch. "These cameras keep people safe, no matter where the offending cars are from. Playing politics with the lives of pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers is shameful and embarrassing.”

Automated speed and red light cameras have long been touted as a way to address inequities in policing. A 2022 Governor’s Highway Safety Association report noted the programs are “a proven way to change driver behavior and increase safety ... while addressing potential inequities, since cameras do not see race or ethnicity."

Advocates for automated traffic enforcement say the technology also saves lives. A 2024 Roadmap To Safety report published by Advocates for Highway & Auto Safety notes private research as well as crash data point to improved safety through automated enforcement.

That report gave New Jersey a "caution" rating on a red, yellow and green scale for statewide traffic safety, adding the Garden State must permit automated traffic enforcement and nighttime and passenger driving restrictions for some drivers to bolster driver protections.

Critics of automated enforcement, however, consider the new technology a bureaucratic money grab.

"While half of all states have rejected these corrupt schemes, there is no reason why we should allow our MVC to be complicit with those who haven't," said Sen. Declan O'Scanlon (R-13), the primary sponsor of the bill. “Studies have shown that camera enforcement is a flawed system that provides no safety benefit for drivers.”

Another version of the bill passed in the Senate during the last legislative session, though it died in the Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee. The renewed bipartisan effort is co-sponsored by Senate President Nick Scutari.

O’Scanlon spearheaded the effort to ban red light and speed cameras in the Garden State, which was eventually signed into law in 2014 by then-Gov. Chris Christie.

"At a time when bipartisanship seemed rare, New Jersey legislators came together to prioritize truth over profit and banned the use of automated enforcement within our borders,” O’Scanlon added.

“Despite soundly rejecting these systems, it has not stopped corrupt companies from reaching into our wallets from out of state. We need to pass this bill to firmly shut the door on this government sanctioned theft and protect our residents from predatory fines.”

You can read the full text of the bill here.