Red-light Cameras are not Flock Cameras. Even the ACLU says so.

One kind of camera saves lives at intersections. The other tracks every car.


Dear Friend of Safe Streets,

You may have seen news stories about Flock cameras lately. Many people are worried about them, and those worries deserve to be taken seriously. But some people are lumping Flock cameras together with red-light cameras. They are not the same thing, and mixing them up could cost lives in South Carolina.

Why this matters here at home

Red-light cameras are banned in South Carolina today. Right now, police in our state cannot use traffic cameras, including red-light cameras, to write tickets for traffic violations. South Carolina is one of nine states where red-light cameras are banned.

House Bill 5600 was introduced on April 28 to change this. It would allow traffic signal cameras to issue tickets for red-light violations, with a $100 fine sent by mail.

What the research shows

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) is a well-known, nonprofit research group. Its studies found:

  • Fewer deaths. Large cities with red-light cameras cut their rate of deadly red-light running crashes by 21%. Their rate of all deadly crashes at intersections with traffic lights fell by 14%.

  • Turning cameras off makes things worse. In 14 cities that shut down their camera programs between 2010 and 2014, deadly red-light running crashes were 30% higher than expected if the cameras had stayed on.

  • Fewer injuries. A 2025 review of 35 studies found a 19% drop in all injury crashes.

  • A deadly problem. In 2024, 1,119 people were killed in crashes involving red-light running.

  • People who live with cameras support them. A survey in 14 big cities with long-running camera programs found that two-thirds of drivers support them. In Washington, D.C., 87% of residents supported red-light cameras.

What about rear-end crashes? IIHS found that even counting sudden stops, red-light cameras would still cut injury crashes by up to a fifth and reduce crashes of all types overall.

Even privacy watchdogs see the difference

The ACLU of Massachusetts calls itself a group of "privacy hawks." It is fighting hard against Flock cameras. Yet in May 2026, it wrote that when properly regulated, automated traffic cameras do not pose the same threats to privacy as license plate reader surveillance.

Here's how the ACLU explained the difference:

  • Red-light cameras target lawbreakers. Speed and red-light cameras are targeted enforcement tools that only collect data on alleged violators.

  • Flock cameras target everyone. License plate readers are part of a dragnet surveillance system that targets all motorists.

  • Flock data travels far. Police departments that use Flock often share the data they collect with the entire Flock network nationwide, giving thousands of out-of-state agencies access to records of drivers' movements.

This is happening in South Carolina, too. In one 28-day period, more than 1 million searches were run on Simpsonville Police Department's Flock cameras by 3,430 agencies across 46 states.

What we support

You can be concerned about Flock cameras and support red-light cameras. Those two views fit together. We support red-light camera programs with strong rules, including:

  • Pictures only when a violation happens. One privacy-protective model allows cameras to take photos only when a violation occurs.

  • Quick deletion. Under that same model, photos must be deleted within 48 hours after a ticket is resolved.

  • No sharing. Camera data cannot be used, sold, or shared except to process the violation.

  • Clear warning signs. Drivers should always know when they are approaching a red-light camera. Leading safety groups say good programs are open with the public and put safety ahead of money.

What you can do today

Our mission is simple: save lives. Thank you for standing with us.

Jody Traywick