Oppose LD 1457: STOP Automated Speed Cameras in Maine
Legislative Alerts
The Maine Legislature is considering LD 1457, which would authorize automated traffic surveillance. Contact your state legislators, and urge them to oppose this bill!
Contact your state legislators
Please help stop LD 1457 by contacting your state legislators. Remind them about the importance of protecting God-given rights, as well as the dangers of government surveillance.
Why it Matters
URGENT: The Maine Legislature is considering legislation that would authorize automated traffic surveillance. Contact your state legislators, and urge them to oppose this bill!
Maine State Senator Brad Farrin (R-Somerset) has introduced Legislative Document No. 1457 (LD 1457), which is titled, “Resolve, to Allow the Maine Turnpike Authority to Conduct a Pilot Program to Implement Automated Speed Control Systems in Highway Work Zones.” If enacted, it would authorize the Maine Turnpike Authority to deploy automated speed-enforcement cameras on highways. These cameras would photograph vehicles exceeding the posted speed limit by 11 mph or more, and issue warnings for the first violation and fines for subsequent violations.
LD 1457 shifts enforcement of traffic laws from accountable, sworn law-enforcement officers to automated machines operated by the Maine Turnpike Authority. As written, the bill allows the Maine Turnpike Authority to “implement automated speed control systems” that rely on algorithmic decisions rather than human judgment. Cameras cannot evaluate weather, emergencies, or traffic flow, factors that trained law-enforcement officers take into consideration when issuing traffic citations.
These automated traffic-enforcement programs quickly expand into lucrative revenue streams that prioritize ticket volume over due process. Automated citations often operate under civil-penalty rules that limit citizens’ ability to confront evidence or challenge errors in court.
This erodes core constitutional protections and infringes upon the Fourth Amendment, which protects individuals from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government, and unfairly grants leniency to some while denying it to others.
Replacing officers with cameras is a step toward a system where technology replaces human discretion and presumes guilt before innocence, violating the Fifth and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.
Urge your state legislators to oppose LD 1457 and protect constitutional traffic enforcement that does not sacrifice liberty.