MILWAUKEE — There is a new push in Milwaukee to curb reckless driving using modern technology, but state lawmakers will need to change state law to make it a reality.
State Sens. La Tonya Johnson, D-Milwaukee, and Dora Drake, D-Milwaukee, represent large parts of Milwaukee’s North Side. They are introducing legislation that would allow the City of Milwaukee to use traffic cameras as part of an automated traffic enforcement pilot program.
On Monday, city leaders gathered at the Milwaukee Public Library’s Atkinson Branch to announce the initiative. The proposed bill would be called The Safe Roads Save Lives Act.
“I think people want to feel safe, be able to drop their kids off to school or the bus stop, without worries about someone driving recklessly,” Drake said.
The proposed automated traffic enforcement pilot program would allow cameras to monitor speed and red-light violations.
Crews would place cameras in high-risk traffic zones across the city. No more than five cameras would be allowed in each aldermanic district and a public campaign to inform people about the cameras would be required before their installation.
Citations could then be issued automatically to violators who are driving at least 15 miles-per-hour over the posted speed limit, and the city would track results over five years.
Traffic cameras are currently prohibited under state law.
Mariah Johnson attended Monday’s press conference as a supporter for the citywide initiative called Milwaukee Vision Zero, which aims to eliminate all traffic fatalities and serious traffic injuries by 2037.
Mariah Johnson’s brother, Jerrold Wellinger, was killed in a car crash four years ago by a reckless driver.
“He was driving, and he was doing a left-hand turn, when two cars were racing down Hampton Avenue going over 100 miles-an-hour,” Mariah Johnson said.
One of those speeding cars crashed right into her brother’s car, just 10 blocks from home.
“I had to stand next to my mom while she identified his body on a camera,” Mariah Johnson said. “That’s something you’ll never unsee or unhear.”
Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson said the cameras would help police officers hold people accountable.
“The bill is important because it puts another tool in the toolbox for our Milwaukee Police Department to be in the position to enforce reckless driving laws on individuals who decide to break the law,” Cavalier Johnson said. “It’s a choice when people drive recklessly,” he said.
The proposed bill will now make its way to the Wisconsin State Legislature.