Poor, minorities hurt most by US expansion of traffic cameras

In a city such as Washington, where the average white household makes three times more money than the average Black household, the flat fees and escalating fines that result from traffic cameras are inherently inequitable, critics warn. — Image by wirestock on Freepik

WASHINGTON: Efforts to address strained US city budgets, battered by the pandemic and coupled with the end of related federal assistance, are sparking concern over the expansion of speed cameras and other traffic enforcement technologies.

Washington has become key grounds for debate after Mayor Muriel Bowser in March proposed a budget that warned of a nearly US$400mil drop in revenue – and suggested adding hundreds of new traffic cameras to the city's streets.