Washington Reporter: EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Pat Harrigan wants to ban automated speed cameras on highways

Contact: Lexi Kranich (814) 380-4408

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Rep. Pat Harrigan (R., N.C.) is rolling out legislation, obtained exclusively by the Washington Reporter, to address a problem that every driver has encountered: automated speed cameras.

Harrigan’s new legislation, the Freedom from Automated Speed Enforcement Act, would slash ten percent of federal highway funds to states that employ automated speed cameras to ticket drivers.

The North Carolinian’s rationale is simple. “Automated speed cameras aren’t about safety — they’re about revenue,” he said. “These systems hand out mass fines without context, without discretion, and without due process. They don’t stop reckless drivers, they don’t engage with the community, and they don’t make our roads safer.”

“What they do,” Harrigan explained, “is quietly drain the pockets of hardworking Americans under the false banner of public safety. Real safety comes from police officers who can make judgment calls, respond in real time, and build trust in the communities they serve. If states want federal highway dollars, they should be investing in real law enforcement, not outsourcing public safety to a machine that functions like a cash register on a pole.”

“Jurisdictions that rely on cameras for revenue should not receive additional federal transportation funding,” Harrigan explained. His bill leverages certain federal highway funds — for example, from the Surface Transportation Block Grant and National Highway Performance Program apportionments — from any state that allows automated speed enforcement.

His bill also requires annual certification from every governor to the U.S. Department of Transportation, affirming that no jurisdiction in their state operates such systems, subject to audit and verification by the Secretary of Transportation.

Some exceptions would be permitted — for example, in clearly marked school zones and active construction zones.