On Your Dime: Rhode Island cities, towns make millions off traffic cams
Traffic cameras are bringing in big cash to several cities in Rhode Island.
Speed and red-light cameras have been scattered across East Providence, Pawtucket, Providence, and Central Falls for years now, aiming to catch drivers disobeying the law, then slapping them with hefty fines.
“It’s less accidents, less people getting hurt, it works,” Pawtucket Police Maj. David Holden said.
It also works for the cities making millions off the traffic cameras, which charge $85 for a red-light citation and $50 for a speed camera citation.
A deep dive into data gathered by the NBC 10 I-Team shows Pawtucket, East Providence, Central Falls and Providence have cashed in on over $51 million off citations over the past two years, with 14% to 16% of that going to the out-of-state vendors that operate the cameras.
Critics say the cameras are a money grab, but Holden said they’re a public safety tool.
“I wouldn’t agree with that,” he said. “We have seen a drastic reduction in the number of violations since the inception of the program overall, that means people are slowing down.”
Holden said before the cameras were installed, speeding was a top complaint among residents.
“Pawtucket is a densely populated city with many people walking to and from school and a lot of pedestrians walking to and from work and to the store,” he said. “The cameras have assisted us with controlling speeding and red-light violations in these densely populated areas.”
The cameras have also assisted the bottom lines of local cities.
Pawtucket made over $21 million in 274,000 citations between October 2020 and October 2022. In that same time frame, East Providence made $9,066,020, Central Falls made over $121,000, and Providence made $20,600,095.
In that two-year time frame, one speed camera alone collected $2.7 million, the most in the state. That speed camera is near St. Margaret School in East Providence.
The speed camera near Burns Elementary in Pawtucket collected the second highest amount of cash at $2.4 million.
Holden admits that the number sounds high.
“It’s a high number, but the number isn’t as important as what the cameras are doing and the reduction in motor vehicle accidents and injuries in creating a safer community,” he said.
In Providence, a speed camera in the area of Olney Street collected the most money in the city at $1,719,750 off 34,395 citations in a two-year period.
Central Falls has made the least amount of money on the traffic cameras. The camera with the most citations from October 2020 to October 2022 is on Lonsdale Avenue, which led to 3,080 citations in that time frame.
In total, Central Falls sent out 6,638 speed cam citations from October of 2020 to October of 2022.
Numbers show citations have dropped drastically at that money making camera outside of Burns Elementary School, decreasing from nearly 16,500 citations in a two-month period in 2020 to just 2,200 citations in a two-month period in 2021.
- October 2020 to December 2020: 16,498 citations
- January 2021 to March 2021: 6,860 citations
- July 2021 to September 2021: 2,267 citations
Overall, Pawtucket has seen a 10% reduction in red light camera citations and a more than 20% reduction in speed camera citations.
“Accidents in the city have decreased since 2019 by roughly 20%,” Holden said. “In some areas where there are red light cameras, and these busy intersection where they have been quite a few accidents in the past, some of these areas are down more than 30% with motor vehicle accidents.”
While the citations may be a headache for drivers, Holden said the numbers prove they’re working.
“People are learning to slow down, and there are less violations," he said.