Fairfax Alliance for Better Bicycling supports all efforts to improve the safety of vulnerable road users by slower down vehicular traffic. Automated Speed Enforcement/Speed safety cameras are the optimal method of enforcement because they provide a durable, low-cost method of reducing vehicular speed without placing additional stress on local police agencies. These cameras have already been implemented in Fairfax County and other areas in the state to successfully reduce speeding in School Zones and highway work zones. These bills provide an opportunity to use proven technology and operations to reduce speeding in other areas where pedestrians, bicyclists, and other vulnerable road users are at increased risk. The attached file show how Fairfax County reduced speeding in school zones during its pilot program. These results can be implemented in additional location s across the state to improve safety for all road users, especially vulnerable road users.

I support HB 1664, HB 1666, HB 1673, and HB 2041, which address different aspects of the implementation of speed safety and general photo enforcement of traffic in Virginia. These tools provide essential speed control without the cost of police officers’ valuable time. These proposed solutions are the most efficient way to consistently addresses illegal behavior. As a resident of The Plains, VA, with property bordering on Rt. 17, I witness daily the excessive speeds of cars and trucks on Rt 17. The current level of police enforcement is intermittent, expensive, and ineffective.

I am writing to urge you to vote in favor of installing speed cameras at the intersection of Route 17 and Old Tavern/Enon Church Road. As someone who uses this intersection regularly, I can attest to its growing danger due to increased traffic volume and rampant speeding by vehicles, including large trucks. This intersection has become a life-threatening hazard, and immediate action is needed to prevent further injuries and fatalities. For those unfamiliar with this area, let me describe the situation: entering or exiting Enon Church Road onto Route 17 from any angle requires split-second decision-making. Last year, some improvement was achieved by cutting back part of a blocking hillside, giving drivers an additional five seconds to determine whether it was safe to proceed. While this was helpful, it was not enough. The installation of blinking lights was intended to alert drivers to the danger, but they have proven to be completely ineffective against the sheer volume and speed of vehicles passing through. The reality is that most drivers on this stretch of Route 17 speed simply because they can. Cars and massive trucks travel at excessive speeds, leaving no room for error. This is not just a matter of inconvenience—it is a deadly combination that threatens everyone trying to navigate this intersection. Allow me to share a personal experience that highlights the danger. Just yesterday, while heading to the hospital, I carefully looked in all directions before attempting to enter Route 17. A large truck in the right lane was approaching so quickly that it was impossible to merge. A car in the left lane, driving abreast with the truck, further blocked my way. Finally, I found a small window of opportunity to proceed. As I reached the middle of Route 17, another vehicle from the south attempted to turn and skidded to a stop just two feet from my car. This is not an isolated incident—it is a recurring nightmare for anyone who uses this intersection. The installation of speed cameras is a straightforward and effective solution to this problem. These cameras can enforce speed limits, deter reckless driving, and save lives. Studies have shown that speed cameras significantly reduce speeding-related accidents, particularly in high-risk areas like this one. The cost of implementation is far outweighed by the value of the lives that will be saved. I implore you to prioritize the safety of your constituents by voting in favor of speed cameras at this intersection. If you ever visit this area, I urge you to experience it firsthand—but with caution. Turn off any distractions, focus intently, and you will see the peril that residents face daily. Thank you for considering this urgent matter. I trust that you will make the right decision to protect our community and prevent future tragedies. Sincerely, Mary Forte 8080 Enon Church Rd, The Plains, VA

Bicycling is a hazard these days, no matter where we ride. Anthing the legislature can do to help make the roads safer to share, is a great benefit to the citizens would help. Please do not delay and act today!

In order to make the road safer for pedestrians and cyclists, please pass these bills. Thank you very much. Jorge Forgues 703.627.0889

I am against this bill which expands the use of photo speed monitoring devices in Virginia. Here's why: Privacy Invasion: The broader application of photo speed monitoring devices across various highways increases the surveillance of citizens, potentially infringing on privacy rights, akin to the privacy concerns raised in Katz v. United States (1967). Selective Enforcement: Allowing local governments to decide where to place these devices based on DOT data might lead to selective enforcement, where certain areas or demographics could be disproportionately targeted, similar to enforcement issues in Whren v. United States (1996). Over-Policing: This expansion could result in over-policing, where the presence of cameras might be more about revenue generation than safety, echoing the critique of government overreach in Lochner v. New York (1905). Public Notification: While the bill increases the requirement for signage from one to two within 1,000 feet, this might still be insufficient to alert drivers, especially on high-speed roads, leading to unintentional violations, reflecting notice issues as in Mullane v. Central Hanover Bank & Trust Co. (1950). Financial Burden: The potential for increased fines due to more widespread use of these devices could disproportionately affect lower-income drivers, creating an economic disparity, similar to concerns in San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez (1973). Lack of Human Judgment: Automated enforcement removes the human element, where context or extenuating circumstances might be considered, potentially leading to unfair ticketing, a concern akin to due process issues in Goldberg v. Kelly (1970). Administrative Overload: Expanding the use of these devices will increase the administrative workload for local law enforcement in managing violations, appeals, and public inquiries, potentially diverting resources from other critical functions, as seen in administrative burden concerns in Massachusetts v. EPA (2007). Potential for Abuse: With local control over placement, there's a risk of misuse for political or financial gain, where cameras might be placed in areas not necessarily for safety but for revenue, touching on the principles of fairness and public trust discussed in Nollan v. California Coastal Commission (1987). I oppose this legislation due to concerns over privacy invasion, selective enforcement, over-policing, inadequate public notification, financial burdens on citizens, the lack of human judgment in enforcement, administrative overload, and the potential for abuse, advocating for a more balanced approach that prioritizes safety while respecting privacy, fairness, and due process.

I SUPPORT THE USE OF SPEED TICKET CAMERAS ALONG VARIOUS PARTS OF ROUTE 17 AND ESPECIALLY GOING FROM WARRENTON TO MARSHALL DURING THE RUSH HOUR PERIODS AT INTERSECTIONS LIKE OLD TAVERN AND ENON CHURCH RD, AND BELVIOUR RD. NOT MANY DRIVERS ADHEAR TO THE SPEEED LIMITS AND MOST DON'T EVEN SLOW DOWN AT SPEED LIMIT REDUCTIONS OF 45 AND 35 WHEN APPROACHING MARSHALL. THERE ARE NUMEROUS TIMES IT IS SIMPLY DIFFICULT TO CROSS RT 17 FROM ENON CHURCH TO GO TO MARSHALL FORCING ME TO MAKE A RIGHT AND THEN TRY MAKING A LEFT AT THE NEXT INTERSECTION OR FROM THE OLD TAVERN SIDE TRYING TO CROSS RT 17 TO MAKE A LEFT TOWARD MARSHALL. RT 17 IS NOT RT 66

I am writing to support HB 1664, HB 1666, HB 1673, and HB 2041, which address different aspects of the implementation of speed safety and general photo enforcement of traffic in Virginia. These tools provide valuable low-impact enforcement in a manner that optimizes law enforcement capacity and more consistently addresses illegal behavior. As a resident of Richmond, VA and a daily pedestrian in a busy part of the city, I very much want actual enforcement of traffic laws, as opposed to the very intermittent enforcement possible without speed and traffic safety cameras.

Please hold off on wasting more money when there are so many people jaywalking instead of using the new crosswalks installed in the city and counties. Where is the money coming from? Taxpayers How about first fixing the water system, then help with the homeless problem, crime problem, and support the police, fire and rescue departments, and public schools. Basically, everyone needs food, water, and shelter and the rule of law to live in a civil society. Government control is the answer to freedom. Stop punishing the law abiding citizens and punish the criminals. It is the same thing with having metal detectors in elementary schools and children forced to use transparent backpacks. How heartbreaking is that for our children now! Schools and communities are supposed to be safe from drugs, cannabis stores, gambling clubs, and human trafficking, abortion clinics, but the government increased the risk for us all in the last four years. Some politicians bend over backwards to protect the criminals instead of protecting the innocent citizens.

Traffic safety is our number one public safety concern. We strongly support measures to increase our authority to implement automated enforcement including speed cameras. Thank you.

Please support HB1664 and HB1666. These bills provide important safety enhancements that will benefit all citizens, includingthose of us living near Route 17, which has become very busy.

Thank you for this opportunity. I live on Enon Church Road, at the intersection of Rte 17 and Old Tavern Rd, across from Great Meadow Event Center. I and my family strongly support the speed camera legislation because there are some roads that are simply so dangerous, that lives depend on taking concrete action to reduce speeds. (I say this as someone who had lived in DC for many years and detests the speed cameras in zones with artificially low speeds that seem designed only to generate revenue) Route 17 can only be described as treacherous. My husband and I live in fear for our 3 children, 2 daughters-in-law, neighbors and ourselves who must enter and exit Rte 17 daily, as well as unsuspecting travelers who may not understand the uniquely dangerous nature of Rte 17. Our fears are based in real life experience. Since we moved to The Plains in 2016, I'm aware of five deaths at our intersection. One of those deaths was my father. My father was in perfect health when he attempted to drive across Rte 17 to visit us, and was T-boned by a speeding car. He was airlifted to INOVA Fairfax, and suffered for a week in the trauma intensive care unit before passing away. We have heard crashes at our intersection from our house a mile away. After hearing one crash, I drove to the intersection to find a red Suburban carrying a family that had been T-boned. The helicopter had just arrived, there was a baby seat by the side of the road, and an ambulance crew was slowly wheeling a gurney with a draped body to an ambulance. That was just one of the accidents I witnessed that was caused by high speeds on Rte 17. Rte 17 between Marshall & Warrenton is uniquely dangerous because of its dual nature. This is the other side of Rte 17's dual nature as both a local road and a super highway.It presents as a scenic country road, lined with driveways from which residents must slowly emerge, and numerous intersections with small country roads from which lower speed drivers enter and exit. School buses stop and start, and large trailers carting livestock lumber onto and off of 17. Despite its function as a local road, Rte 17 also functions as a major high speed highway and commuter route - picture 495 or 95 with heavy, high speed traffic. Cars, trucks, and tractor trailers fly through at speeds well over the limit that would not allow them to slow down in time to avoid a car entering or exiting 17 at a lower speed. It appears that many of these drivers are using Rte 17 as if it were an interstate highway in order to avoid Rte 81, and this use will only increase as traffic at the inland port increases. In addition, commuters leaving Rte 66 use Rte 17 (via Old Tavern Road) to avoid the slow traffic on Rte 29. I've observed that they are typically in a hurry and pay little attention to speed limits. The combination of these high speed drivers, mixed with lower speed drivers who are entering and exiting Rte 17 at its many driveways, intersection, and school bus stops. It has resulted in numerous deaths and injuries. There are many other roads that share these characteristics with my local section of Rte 17. When a road is used by both local travelers, who are typically traveling at lower speeds, and longer distance travelers, who are typically traveling at higher speeds, the danger is acute. It is essential to control speed, and I and my family believe that speed cameras would be an effective tool to do so.

I support HB 1666 and HB 1664 to allow Photo Enforcement Speed Ticket Cameras to be allowed on Virginia Roads to reduce the crashes, deaths and injuries. Police need this help to get it under serious control where it is worst. It's about public safety, and NOT about making money.

I support HB 1664 and 1666 to pass into law. These devices represent technology that works very well to assist police to keep the speeding much lower and speed limit obeyed. Its clearly showing that they work in school zones from huge reduction in speeding per what I hear from our police forces. If our toll roads can issue me a fine in the mail using photo camera technology than why NOT for speed ticket cameras on roads that have known bad speeding problems that police get under control. My horse trailer is slow moving, and when I use Rte 17 in Fauquier County to take my daughter to riding events, it is very dangerous for us and our horse due to speeding cars and tractor trailers. Virginia also has so many crashes that cause LONG delays I can only think it would reduce those types of ongoing delays also so truckers deliver their cargo on time and people get to work more on time. They work, proven to work now very well in school zone, and now time to expand them for use on more dangerous roads. Thank you and I hope you all see the value of this technology that we did NOT have access to just 15 years ago.

I fully support SB 1664 and 1666 to pass into law so citizens have technology to assist our police forces to address the over 20 years of out of control speeding on Rte 17 in Fauquier County. I lived here for 24 years, and the number of times I have almost been hit by either me swerving out of the way or the speeder behind me swerving from my vehicle in just inches happens so much its beyond counting anymore. It truly is that bad. Some of you I am sure could care less who vote on these types of bills because its all about protecting the tractor trailer drivers who deliver the cargo as FAST as POSSIBLE for the Ports of Virginia to the inland marine port in Front Royal Virginia in relation to the millions of dollars invested in the ports. I have watched the recorded RGA statements from 2023 and 2024 made by Secretary of Transportation Sheppard Miller to the Senate and HOD Transportation and Public Safety Committees how he says public safety is there #1 priority, death rates on Virginia highways continue to rise every year and it needs serious attention. Mr Miller also stated how the ports of Virginia are booming in business and making Millions of dollars which is good, but we need these Speed Ticket Cameras in place to help our police get it under serious control. A fellow supporter in our group had to speak Governor Youngkin directly to ask him to help us out with the millions of drivers speeding on Rte 17 Marshall to Warrenton which is a major tractor trailer "Trade Route" now. The police were NOT really listening to us for all these years complaining and all we heard from them is its "To much speeding and not enough police to go around with so many other problems also". Rte 17 is used heavily by school buses, who look like they are standing still when doing 55mph compared to all the speeders. The school bus routes are a EXTENSION OF THE SCHOOL ZONE per what my citizen group has been saying for last few years, and I agree. If it requires having the speed cameras turned OFF for certain parts of the day to get them in place, then let it be done but having them out there alone forces drivers to obey the speed limit whether ON or OFF. This is coming from both State Police and Sheriff Dept, and the data I was shown proves it. I have driven on Rte 17 at least 30 times where speed ticket cameras are in place at Liberty High School and the vast majority of drivers are obeying the speed limit strictly there all 30 times. The signs that say "Photo Enforcement" is like having a police officer present all the time, and thats what we need up on our section of Rte 17 where we have NO traffic lights and the speeding is heavy and fast. Tractor trailer drivers are like speeding tanks and hauling all forms of cargo that could explode. In 2017 we had a propane tanker flip over from speeding, and many others have in the past. Neighbors I know have been injured and some of their family members KILLED on Rte 17. This is NOT about making money, but all about INCREASING PUBLIC SAFETY THRU REDUCING THE SPEEDING. The camera systems I have reviewed how they work and its FAIR. Blocking speed ticket cameras from being allowed to help police is control the speeding, and increase public safety has gone on far to long, and clearly a link meant to allow truckers to speed to make the ports LOTS of MONEY. Further blocking these bills is going to warrant a full scale investigation citizens are saying. I vote to allow them. Thank you

I support these bills to pass into law. This will help improve our public safety on speeding roads. My family has lived on Rt 17 since 1974 and my step father, S Prentiss Porter was almost killed pulling out onto that road. I visit my 100-year-old mother who lives on Wildcat Mt, almost every day, and find that pulling out into 17 is like entering a shooting gallery. And turning in is not much better as the trucks steam around the bend behind me and basically ignore my turn signal. Thank you for your consideration. Feroline Higginson

I fully 100% support HB bills 1666 and HB 1664 to pass to allow for use on dangerous roads and highways with supporting data indicating speeding is excessively occurring, deaths, injuries and/or road design variables that indicate a need to have a 24 hour a day 365 day surveillance to assist both State Police and local police forces to keep the problem under more strict control of obeying the set speed limits. Myself and hundreds of Fauquier Citizens have called in, emailed and spoken up to our police forces to address it, but all we hear is too much speeding and not enough man power to go around from both State Police and Sheriff Dept since 2004. It took me to have a direct conversation with Governor Glenn Youngkin in 2023 and 2024 to address the speeding of which it did get addressed much more strictly for 4-6 months, but then again returned to being a problem and required another in person request with Governor Youngkin to help us out again. It SHOULD NOT require a citizen to go to the Governor of Virginia in order to get police to put very serious attention on the speeding problem. Even when they do, they are still allowing an average of 19mph over the set speed limit of 55mph before a citation is issued per both State Police and Sheriff police. Reckless driving by law is 20mph over the set speed limit. The police simply NEED HELP, and this Technology is the Answer. Extending the speed ticket camera onto highways like Rte 17 where school buses must STOP by law in the right hand lane to pick up and drop off children would be a "EXTENSION OF THE SCHOOL ZONE". Speed ticket camera technology is about PUBLIC SAFETY and NOT about making money. Any statistics indicating increased revenue from Speed Cameras is TESTIMONY of itself that the road area has a SERIOUS SPEEDING PROBLEM that police are unable to keep under control. It is simple as that, because speed ticket cameras allow by law 10mph over the speed limit, and ONLY issue a citation when it is 11mph over the speed limit. Citizens can decide to go to court to fight the citation if they choose just like if a police officer wrote the citation. A Police officer always Reviews all citation photo evidence prior to it being sent in the mail to the owner of the vehicle. Police force man power is still down below standards from the COVID pandemic, other society factors and an increase of police officer retirements being reached per State Police records. Photo Enforcement Speed Ticket Technology Cameras are proven to reduce the speeding and related deaths and injuries occurring in Virginia School zones since being implemented in the last 2 years. On Rte 17 in Fauquier County Virginia near Liberty High School and Cedar Lee Middle School are multiple speed ticket cameras in place and improving public safety dramatically by reducing the speeding. These devices NOW need to be expanded for use onto the many other dangerous roads that police are unable to keep under long term serious control.