By Mike Kruzman / news@whmi.com

A local legislator’s bill would keep cameras that photograph drivers trying to sneak through a lighted intersection out of Michigan.

22nd District State Senator Lana Theis recently introduced legislation that would prohibit municipalities from installing red-light cameras. Red light cameras are a type of traffic enforcement device that photograph vehicles as they enter an intersection after the light turns red. Twenty-one states and Washington D.C. allow red-light cameras, and the newly signed federal infrastructure law is said, through a release from Theis’ office, to clear the way for more to be installed.

Theis, a Brighton Township Republican, says that these cameras “are not about motorist safety,” but are a “cynical revenue grab, often riddled with corruption with no benefit for the greater good.” She continued, calling them a violation of constitutional rights and the definition of government overreach.

A 2020 study from Campbell Systematic Reviews concludes that while red light cameras can reduce red light running and right angle crashes, they may also increase the risk of rear-end crashes, as drivers aware of the cameras might hit the brakes hard to avoid a citation.

Senate Bill 875 would rule that such cameras not be used to enforce traffic law, and that any citations issued on the basis of an image from a photographic traffic signal enforcement system would be void. The bill is now with the Senate Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for consideration.