In this op-ed published in Black America Web, an online publication providing news, entertainment, and original content for the Black community, co-authors Scarlet Neath, CPE Policy Director, and Priya Sarathy Jones, Deputy Executive Director at the Fines and Fees Justice Center, highlight the disproportionate negative impacts that an increasing reliance on Automatic Traffic Enforcement (ATE) technologies can have on vulnerable and minority communities. An excerpt from the op-ed:
A fine-based, enforcement-first approach doesn’t just fail to meet safety goals, and it also fails communities. Over the last decade, while ATE has been steadily growing, 1 in 3 Americans have been impacted by fine and fee debt; with the majority of these debts stemming from traffic infractions. At the same time, fatal traffic crashes reached a 40-year high in 2022. For people living paycheck to paycheck, trying to pay off a single traffic ticket and its associated fees can mean forgoing food, rent, and childcare.
Read the op-ed in full on Black America Web.