Monday, Jul. 28, 2025
Are Maine police allowed to use traffic cameras to remotely write tickets?
Under Maine law, traffic surveillance cameras mounted on roadways can’t be used to prove or enforce a traffic violation.
There are two exceptions: Cameras on toll booths can be used for toll enforcement, and cameras on school buses can be used to enforce a law requiring motorists to halt if a bus has stopped with its red lights flashing.
New cameras on Interstate 95 and 295 will be used to track traffic delays and improve emergency responses, officials told the Press Herald.
This spring, lawmakers introduced a bill that would create a pilot program allowing the Maine Turnpike Authority to use cameras to enforce speed limits in highway work zones. That proposal was eventually carried over to the next legislative session.
According to the Governors Highway Safety Association, 19 states and the District of Columbia allow the use of cameras to detect speeding, while nine states prohibit their use.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
- Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A: Motor Vehicles and Traffic
- Maine Revised Statutes Overtaking and passing school buses
- 132nd Maine Legislature Text of LD 1457
- 132nd Maine Legislature Status of LD 1457
- Governors Highway Safety Association Speed & Red Light Cameras
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Fact briefs are bite-sized, well-sourced explanations that offer clear "yes" or "no" answers to questions, confusions, and unsupported claims circulating online. They rely on publicly available data and documents, often from the original source. Fact briefs are written and published by Gigafact contributor publications.
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