Those Traffic Cameras

For John, BLUF:  Sometimes we think some actions are strictly mechanical and therefore are neutral.  Sometime human factors remove that neutrality.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Chicago’s “Race-Neutral” Traffic Cameras Ticket Black and Latino Drivers the Most

Here is the sub-headline:

A ProPublica analysis found that traffic cameras in Chicago disproportionately ticket Black and Latino motorists. But city officials plan to stick with them — and other cities may adopt them too.

by Emily Hopkins and Melissa Sanchez Jan. 11, 5 a.m. EST.

Here is the lede plus three:

When then-Mayor Richard M. Daley ushered in Chicago’s red-light cameras nearly two decades ago, he said they would help the city curb dangerous driving. “This is all about safety, safety of pedestrians, safety of other drivers, passengers, everyone,” he said.

His successors echoed those sentiments as they expanded camera enforcement. “My goal is only one thing, the safety of our kids,” Rahm Emanuel said in 2011, as he lobbied for the introduction of speed cameras. And in 2020, Lori Lightfoot assured residents her expansion of the program was “about making sure that we keep communities safe.”

But for all of their safety benefits, the hundreds of cameras that dot the city — and generate tens of millions of dollars a year for City Hall — have come at a steep cost for motorists from the city’s Black and Latino neighborhoods. A ProPublica analysis of millions of citations found that households in majority Black and Hispanic ZIP codes received tickets at around twice the rate of those in white areas between 2015 and 2019.

The consequences have been especially punishing in Black neighborhoods, which have been hit with more than half a billion dollars in penalties over the last 15 years, contributing to thousands of vehicle impoundments, driver’s license suspensions and bankruptcies, according to ProPublica’s analysis.

like with most things involving The People, some thought is needed to understand what is going on.  For one, we should ask what external factors are causing tese ZIP Code disparities.  Is transportation Infrastructure equitably distributed?  Is there a difference in pulic transportation?  Are commuting obligations different?  Is there some set of legal restrictions on some ZIP Codes that are unequitable and unreasonable?

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff