Senator Dora Drake (D) Wisconsin
By Senator Dora Drake
This week, members of the Senate Committee on Transportation and Local Government held a public hearing on the Safe Roads Save Lives Act (Senate Bill 375) for the first time since its inception. For years, our community has both advocated for and debated the use of red light cameras to combat reckless driving throughout Milwaukee. Since being sworn into the Senate, I have built a bi-partisan coalition to finally get this bill a public hearing and a chance to pass. This bill is designed to safeguard our streets, protect our families, and create a culture of accountability on our roads to end reckless driving.
Over the past five years, a staggering 1,166 people in Milwaukee have either lost their lives or have endured life-altering injuries due to speed-related traffic crashes. This isn’t just a statistic; these are our neighbors, friends, and loved ones. While traffic-related deaths have decreased by 6% across the state, Milwaukee’s average has surged by an alarming 86% since 2012. The city has taken steps, but exploring new tools is overdue, and it’s time the state takes action.
The Safe Roads Save Lives Act will empower Milwaukee to deploy speed safety and red-light cameras not as a means to generate revenue but to deter reckless driving and prevent tragedies before they happen. We aim to achieve this by changing dangerous habits and ensuring that everyone, regardless of their location, can cross the street or drive to work, school, or church without fear. In the 4th Senate District, Black residents face fatal crash rates more than double those of white residents. People walking in low-income communities are three times more likely to be killed. This legislation directly addresses those disparities and aims to reduce these inequities by fostering safer environments for all.
In the recent iterations of this bill, I have heard three major concerns: 1) lack of civil rights and privacy protections, 2) it’s just another revenue source for the city, and 3) this will not stop criminals from speeding; this will just punish others. Through conversations and negotiations, various stakeholders and I address these concerns and provide protections for residents; this is how we did it.
First, we have guaranteed community oversight and transparency over these systems at the local level to protect your civil rights and privacy. The Common Council and the Mayor will have full control over system policies, with requirements for transparency, public input, and regular reporting to ensure accountability. We have limited the use of these cameras to no more than 5 per aldermanic district, and they can only be used in locations with high reckless driving frequencies. In addition to this, we are requiring a robust public information campaign, visible signage of camera locations, a 90-day warning, and a policy that drivers will only be ticketed for going over 15 MPH or running a red light. Lastly, these cameras can only cover the rear license plate, protecting you from potential facial recognition technology.
Next, to avoid the potential abuse of this system to generate more revenue, we have limited the use of the funds collected in addition to these limitations. The funds collected through potential tickets can only be used to pay for this system as well as traffic infrastructure, control, and safety programs. The remaining funds generated cannot be spent anywhere else.
Lastly, this comes down to changing behaviors because we all have a personal responsibility to help solve this problem. Reckless driving and excessive speeding are not limited to criminals who steal cars or who are fleeing the scene of a crime. They are everyday people who are speeding to get to work or home because they are late or because the flow of traffic itself is moving faster than the speed limit. Many studies have shown that residents who live outside of our neighborhood also contribute to this problem. We have a culture problem.
When you get pulled over going 90 mph down the interstate by state patrol, after someone pays their ticket, the vast majority don’t go back speeding 90 mph; they slow down. When an individual is using the Waze GPS app and they see a cop is potentially on their route, a majority of people don’t hit the gas; they slow down. I know that there are those who suggest that we should explore an alternative, such as hiring more police officers. However, the reality is that having a police officer at every intersection will not solve the problem, and it is not the most efficient use of resources as we address other crimes, such as gun violence and domestic violence, within our community. We need more tools to combat reckless driving, and from there, we can see if this works or not. Doing nothing is not an option anymore.
I am grateful to community members who have called legislators and who showed up to the hearing this week. We made progress in moving this bill forward. But I am also grateful to those who don’t support this legislation whom I still engaged with to make this legislation better. This is what community and civic engagement looks like, and it is how we make our city better. Only together will we be able to end reckless driving in our communities, and it’s time my colleagues in the legislature pass this legislation.