The future of the traffic cameras in school zones bill is unclear

Some Indiana lawmakers want local communities to be able to put traffic cameras in school zones, aiming to decrease speeding in those areas.

The number of miles traveled by vehicles in 2020 decreased, an effect of the pandemic. Yet the number of traffic fatalities went up. And Indiana is above the national average for those deaths.

Dan Parker is an Indianapolis city official. He said New York City created a program that put cameras in school zones.

“Photo-enforced corridors saw a 2.7 percent decrease in crashes overall and an 8 percent decrease in crashes involving injury,” Parker said.

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The Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council agrees there would be a strong deterrent effect and generally supports the idea. But IPAC’s Chris Daniels said if a driver challenges their ticket, it will be hard for prosecutors to prove their case.

“The fact that we only have pictures of the back of the car ultimately will always get us to a point where we have a driver who says, ‘It wasn’t me.’ And it is the state’s burden to prove that it was,” Daniels said.

A House committee heard testimony on the bill, HB 1150, Wednesday. But there’s no indication the legislation will get a vote or advance any further.

Contact reporter Brandon at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.