Automated Traffic Law Enforcement

Automated traffic law enforcement uses unattended cameras to detect and record traffic law violations. Most commonly, these cameras are used to detect red light and speed limit violations. Nationally, the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (an independent, nonprofit organization) reports that as of April 2013, "red light cameras are used in approximately 530 communities and speed cameras are used in more than 124 jurisdictions." In Ohio, municipal authority for automated enforcement of traffic laws results from the constitutional grant of municipal home rule. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reports that five Ohio communities use automated enforcement only to detect speed limit violations; two communities use the devices only for red light violations; and nine communities use the devices for both red light and speed limit violations. The Ohio Revised Code addresses only limited issues related to automated traffic law enforcement.