Traffic Enforcement: Funding of Automatic Red-Light and Speed Enforcement Technologies

A number of cities and counties have implemented photo enforcement programs to improve traffic safety. These programs use cameras to identify drivers running red lights or speeding and issue tickets to owners of identified vehicles. Such programs are eligible for funding through Department of Transportation (DOT) highway funding programs. GAO examined the role that federal funds have played in the local deployment of photo enforcement programs. GAO agreed to (1) identify local jurisdictions that are using photo enforcement devices--red-light cameras or photo radar--on federal-aid highways; (2) identify local jurisdictions that have received federal funding for photo enforcement; and (3) determine, for those jurisdictions that have received federal funding, how much revenue their photo enforcement programs have generated and the amount of that revenue received by private contractors.