OLYMPIA, Wash. — Calling the latest traffic death numbers “unacceptable,” Gov. Jay Inslee Jay Inslee said the state should explore the use of ticket-generating cameras on state roadways.
”We can’t allow the carnage to continue when we have the technology that works,” said Inslee.
According to preliminary figures released by the state, 750 people died in traffic crashes in 2022 - a 30-year high.
In 2021, 675 people died. That was the highest in 20 years, according to the Washington Traffic Safety Commission.
”These are not just numbers, these are people, family members, friends, coworkers whose lives have been lost and left the people around them, grieving,” said Shelly Baldwin, director of the Safety Commission.
Baldwin said research has shown the main causes of the deadly crashes are impairment and speed. Research shows drivers took advantage of fewer cars, and police, on the roads during the early days of the pandemic and began driving at higher speeds, she said. Baldwin said that’s a habit drivers have not broken.
Inslee asked Baldwin if the speed cameras he recently saw on a trip to Europe are effective in slowing drivers down. When he was told yes, he suggested exploring expanding the use of speed cameras in the state.
Legislators earlier this year approved the use of the ticket-generating cameras in highway work zones starting in July 2024.
“We ought to have speed cameras, we ought to put them to work, we ought to save hundreds of lives, and the fact we're not doing that frankly, is a little frustrating right now."
Sen. Marko Liias, a Democrat, sponsored the bill to authorize the work zone cameras. He said he would want to see how effective the cameras are before expanding use.
“We’re going to follow the data,” said Liias.
Republican Sen. Curtis King, a Republican, said he would not support expanding the use of the cameras.
“This carries it much further,” said King. “It’s like ‘big government.’”