Editing Traffic enforcement camera (section)

===Unpopularity===
Claims of popular support are disputed by elections in the US, where the camera companies often sue to keep it off the ballot, and camera enforcement often loses by a wide margin {{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}. Automated enforcement is opposed by some motorists and motoring organizations {{who|date=September 2024}} as strictly for revenue generating. They have also been rejected in some places by referendum. [[Opinion polling]] in [[New York City]],<ref>{{cite web | url=https://transalt.org/press-releases/new-poll-reveals-new-york-city-voters-support-automated-enforcement-to-make-streets-safer | title=New Poll Reveals New York City Voters Support Automated Enforcement to Make Streets Safer }}</ref> [[British Columbia]],<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.drivesmartbc.ca/speed/poll-automated-speed-enforcement | title=POLL - Automated Speed Enforcement &#124; DriveSmartBC }}</ref> and [[Washington, DC]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nhtsa.gov/book/countermeasures-that-work/speeding-and-speed-management/countermeasures/enforcement/speed-safety-camera-enforcement | title=Speed Safety Camera Enforcement &#124; NHTSA }}</ref> have shown significant margins of approval for automatic speed enforcement. 

*The first speed camera systems in the US were in [[Friendswood, Texas]], in 1986 and [[La Marque, Texas]], in 1987.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=raZRAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA128|title=The Improbability Principle: Why Coincidences, Miracles, and Rare Events Happen Every Day|last=Hand|first=David J.|date=2014-02-11|publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux|isbn=9780374711399|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-09-17-ga-8493-story.html|title=Say 'Cheese,' Speeders: Pasadena to Test Photo Radar|last=DUNN|first=ASHLEY|date=1987-09-17|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=2018-08-11|language=en-US|issn=0458-3035}}</ref> Neither program lasted more than a few months before public pressure forced them to be dropped.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2005/11/freeze-frame/|title=Freeze Frame - The Truth About Cars|date=2005-11-14|work=The Truth About Cars|access-date=2018-08-11|language=en-US}}</ref>
*In 1991, cameras were rejected in referendum in [[Peoria, Arizona]]; voters were the first to reject cameras by a 2–1 margin.<ref name=":1" />
*In 1992, cameras were rejected by voters in referendums in [[Batavia, Illinois]].<ref>'Photocop didn't play in Peoria', by Wayne Baker in The [[Chicago Tribune]], March 21, 1991</ref>
*[[Anchorage, Alaska]], rejected cameras in a 1997 referendum.<ref name=":1" />
*In 2002, the state of [[Hawaii]] experimented with speed limit enforcement vans but they were withdrawn months later due to public outcry.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/1390665/Angry-drivers-force-Hawaii-to-drop-speed-cameras.html|newspaper=Daily Telegraph|date=2002-04-12|title=Angry drivers force Hawaii to drop speed cameras|access-date=2010-05-05|location=London|first=Oliver|last=Poole|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100607000024/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/1390665/Angry-drivers-force-Hawaii-to-drop-speed-cameras.html|archive-date=2010-06-07}}</ref>
*A 2002 Australian survey found that "The community generally believes that enforcement intensities should either stay the same or increase", with 40% of those surveyed saying that they thought that the number of speed cameras on the road should be increased, 43% saying that they thought the number should stay the same, and 13% saying that they thought that the number should be decreased.<ref>{{cite web|last=Mitchell-Taverner, Zipparo and Goldsworthy|title=Survey on Speeding and Enforcement|url=http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/roads/safety/publications/2003/pdf/Speed_Risk_4.pdf|publisher=Australian Transport Safety Bureau|access-date=17 December 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320191631/https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/roads/safety/publications/2003/pdf/Speed_Risk_4.pdf|archive-date=20 March 2012}}</ref> 
*In 2005, the [[Virginia]] legislature declined to reauthorize its [[red light camera]] enforcement law after a study questioned their effectiveness,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hro.house.state.tx.us/focus/redlight79-15.pdf|title=Red-light Cameras in Texas: A Status Report|website=Hro.house.state.tx.us|access-date=2016-06-30|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011130837/http://www.hro.house.state.tx.us/focus/redlight79-15.pdf|archive-date=2016-10-11}}</ref> only to reverse itself in 2007 and allow cameras to return to any city with a population greater than 10,000.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.localkicks.com/community/news/Red_Light_Cameras_Return_to_Alexandria|title=Red-Light Cameras Return to Alexandria - Alexandria Virginia News {{!}} LocalKicks|website=www.localkicks.com|access-date=2018-08-11}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/DC-Fairfax-Red-Light-Cameras-Making-a-Return-124654789.html|title=New Red-Light Cameras in Fairfax, Alexandria|work=NBC4 Washington|access-date=2018-08-11|language=en}}</ref> Citations are not enforceable due to no penalty being in place if they are ignored.<ref name=":0" />
*A 2007 literature review of the benefits and barriers to implementation of automated speed enforcement in the US. stated that "In general, the results of [public opinion] surveys indicate that a majority of respondents support automated enforcement. However, the margins of support vary widely, from a low of 51 percent in Washington, D.C. to a high of 77 percent in Scottsdale, Arizona."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.geckosecurity.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Automated-Speed-Enforcement-in-the-U.S..pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160808023850/http://www.geckosecurity.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Automated-Speed-Enforcement-in-the-U.S..pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=8 August 2016|title=Automated Speed Enforcement in the U.S.: A Review of the Literature on Benefits and Barriers to Implementation|last=Rodier, Shaheen, and Cavanagh|access-date=17 December 2012}}</ref>
*In 2009, a petition was started in the town of [[College Station, Texas]], which requested that all red light cameras be dismantled and removed from all of the town's intersections. Enough signatures were captured to put the measure on the November 2009 general election ballot. After an extensive battle between the College Station city council and the opposing sides, both for and against red light cameras, the voters voted to eliminate the red light cameras throughout the entire city. By the end of November, the red light cameras were taken down.
*On May 4, 2010, an ordinance authorizing the use of speed cameras in the town of [[Sykesville, Maryland]], was put to a referendum, in which 321 out of 529 voters (60.4%) voted against the cameras. The turnout for this vote was greater than the number of voters in the previous local Sykesville election for mayor where 523 voted.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/news/local/article_183c11e6-57ee-11df-9fc0-001cc4c03286.html |title=Sykesville residents reject speed camera referendum |access-date=May 5, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100508233213/http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/news/local/article_183c11e6-57ee-11df-9fc0-001cc4c03286.html |archive-date=May 8, 2010 }}</ref>
*Arizona decided not to renew their contract with Redflex in 2011 following a study of their statewide 76 photo enforcement cameras.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.azauditor.gov/Reports/State_Agencies/Agencies/Public_Safety_Department_of/Performance/10-02/10-02.pdf|title=Department of Public Safety - Photo enforcement program|website=Azauditor.gov|access-date=2016-06-30|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100716004636/http://www.azauditor.gov/Reports/State_Agencies/Agencies/Public_Safety_Department_of/Performance/10-02/10-02.pdf|archive-date=2010-07-16}}</ref> Reasons given included less than expected revenue due to improved compliance, mixed public acceptance and mixed accident data.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://redflex.com/public_documents/asx_announcements/2010-05-06%20Arizona%20Speed%20Contract.pdf|title=Arizona Speed Contract|website=Redflex.com|access-date=2016-06-30|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100927072410/http://redflex.com/public_documents/asx_announcements/2010-05-06%20Arizona%20Speed%20Contract.pdf|archive-date=2010-09-27}}</ref>