Editing Traffic enforcement camera (section)

{{short description|Camera for detecting motoring offenses}}
{{distinguish|Camera trap}}
[[Image:Gatso Camera.jpg|thumb|right|A [[Gatso]] speed camera. The camera's lens is visible at top left, while the large [[Flash (photography)|flash]], used for illuminating [[Vehicle registration plate|number plate]]s and calibration lines on the road when taking photographs, is visible on the bottom right.]]
[[File:Hong Kong Speed Camera.jpg|thumb|A speed camera in [[Mong Kok]], [[Hong Kong]]]]
[[File:Southern Savonia, Finland - panoramio (2).jpg|thumb|A speed camera on the [[Finnish national road 5|Highway 5]] in [[Joroinen]], [[South Savonia]], Finland]]
A '''traffic enforcement camera''' (also a '''[[red light camera]]''', '''speed camera''', '''road safety camera''', '''bus lane camera''', depending on use) is a [[camera]] which may be mounted beside or over a [[road]] or installed in an enforcement [[vehicle]] to detect motoring offenses, including [[speed limit|speeding]], vehicles going through a [[red traffic light]], vehicles going through a toll booth without paying, unauthorized use of a [[bus lane]], or for recording vehicles inside a [[congestion pricing|congestion charge]] area. It may be linked to an automated ticketing system.

A worldwide review of studies found that speed cameras led to a reduction of "11% to 44% for fatal and serious injury crashes".<ref name=cochranereview/> The UK Department for Transport estimated that cameras had led to a 22% reduction in personal injury collisions and 42% fewer people being killed or seriously injured at camera sites. The ''[[British Medical Journal]]'' reported that speed cameras were effective at reducing accidents and injuries in their vicinity and recommended wider deployment. An [[London School of Economics|LSE]] study in 2017 found that "adding another 1,000 cameras to British roads could save up to 190 lives annually, reduce up to 1,130 collisions and mitigate 330 serious injuries."<ref name=LSEstudy>{{cite web|url=http://www.lse.ac.uk/News/Latest-news-from-LSE/2017/10-October-2017/Speed-cameras-reduce-road-accidents-and-traffic-deaths-according-to-new-study |title=Speed cameras reduce road accidents and traffic deaths, according to new study|date=25 October 2017 }}</ref> Research indicates that automated traffic enforcement alleviates biases associated with police stops.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last1=Xu |first1=Wenfei |last2=Smart |first2=Michael |last3=Tilahun |first3=Nebiyou |last4=Askari |first4=Sajad |last5=Dennis |first5=Zachary |last6=Li |first6=Houpu |last7=Levinson |first7=David |date=2024 |title=The racial composition of road users, traffic citations, and police stops |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |language=en |volume=121 |issue=24 |pages=e2402547121 |doi=10.1073/pnas.2402547121 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=11181091 |pmid=38830097|bibcode=2024PNAS..12102547X }}</ref>

The latest [[automatic number-plate recognition]] systems can be used for the detection of average speeds and raise concerns over loss of privacy and the potential for governments to establish [[mass surveillance]] of vehicle movements and therefore by association also the movement of the vehicle's owner. Vehicle owners are often required by law to identify the driver of the vehicle and a case was taken to the [[European Court of Human Rights]] which found that human rights were not being breached. Some groups, such as the [[American Civil Liberties Union]] in the US, claim that "the common use of speed traps as a revenue source also undercuts the legitimacy of safety efforts."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/extreme-traffic-enforcement/|title=Extreme Traffic Enforcement|date=24 May 2012 |publisher=[[American Civil Liberties Union]]|access-date=2019-02-19|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180429000341/https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/extreme-traffic-enforcement|archive-date=2018-04-29}}</ref>