Tennessee Authorizes Statewide Freeway Speed Camera Program: Members of the Tennessee General Assembly Misled into Voting to Authorize State-Run Freeway Work Zone Speed Camera Program

The Tennessee General Assembly gave final approval to legalize speed cameras in freeway work zones. Although many members in the House and Senate expressed strong opposition to the concept of photo enforcement, the authorization measure passed by an overwhelmingly 80 to 10 margin in the House and 28 to 0 in the Senate. The support was due in no small part to the bill’s wording, which granted authority to deploy cameras in the guise of restricting them. According to House Bill 1202, speed cameras are not permitted in work zones unless construction workers are present.