Speed cameras in the United States: what they look like

Checked 15 October 2026

Red light cameras and speed cameras are legal in some states and banned in others. Speed cameras are mostly found in school zones and work zones. A PHOTO ENFORCED sign is common but not always present, and the ticket goes to the car's registered owner.

Warned by a sign

None

Not always warned

Red light camera, Fixed speed camera, Mobile camera, Roadworks camera, Other camera

Every camera type

Real photos, with where each one was taken and who took it.

Red light camera

Sometimes signposted

Red light camera (red light safety camera)

Looks like: A camera at the junction, linked to the traffic lights and to sensors just before the stop line or crosswalk.

Catches: Entering the junction after the light has turned red. A right turn on red without a full stop, or where it is banned, may also count.

Used by 351 communities in 2025, in 22 states and Washington DC. Cities with them include Chicago, Denver, New Orleans, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington DC. Banned in Idaho, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas and West Virginia, though some Texas cities still run cameras under contracts signed before the 2019 ban. Many programmes allow up to half a second after the light turns red.

A grey speed camera housing at the side of a road — Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, MarylandPhoto: Tony Webster, CC BY 2.0

Fixed speed camera

Sometimes signposted

Speed camera (speed safety camera)

Looks like: A fixed camera at the roadside that measures speed by radar or by sensors in the road surface.

Catches: Speeding, usually at one spot.

Used by 338 communities in 2025, in 26 states and Washington DC, often only in school zones. New York City has speed cameras in more than 700 school zones. Banned in Idaho, Maine, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, South Carolina, Texas, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Mobile camera

Sometimes signposted

Mobile speed camera

Looks like: A camera placed at the roadside in a marked or unmarked police car, in a container or on a pole, measuring speed by radar or laser.

Catches: Speeding.

Some communities require an operator to be present.

Roadworks camera

Sometimes signposted

Work zone speed camera

Catches: Speeding in highway work zones, in some states only when workers are present.

Used statewide in highway work zones in Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington.

Other camera

No warning

School bus stop-arm camera

Catches: Passing a school bus that has stopped with its red lights flashing.

New York allowed them in 2019. The penalty goes to the vehicle's owner.

The warning signs

Red light camera

PHOTO ENFORCED

A camera at the traffic lights ahead photographs cars that run the red light.

What to do: Stop on red and don't enter the junction on red.

Camera enforcement

PHOTO ENFORCED

The limit or rule above is enforced by camera.

What to do: Keep to the limit.

White rectangle with a black border showing a black camera symbol above the words TRAFFIC LAWS PHOTO ENFORCED in black. At a city or county boundary, warning that some traffic laws there are enforced by camera.
Vertical white rectangle with a black border showing a black traffic light with red, yellow and green lamps above the words PHOTO ENFORCED in black. Before or at a junction with traffic lights. The MUTCD allows it only where red light cameras are installed.
Small white rectangle with a black border, showing either a black camera symbol or the words PHOTO ENFORCED, mounted under a speed limit or other regulatory sign. On the same post as the sign it applies to.

Good to know

Tolerance: There is no national tolerance. Speed cameras are usually set to trigger only at 10 or 11 mph over the limit, and lower in places such as school zones. State laws set some thresholds: California speed cameras fine from 11 mph over, and Maryland work zone cameras record from 12 mph over.

If you're in a hire car: Camera tickets go to the car's registered owner, which for a hire car is the hire company. In some states the owner can name the driver. In New York, camera tickets are treated like parking tickets and the owner is liable whoever was driving.

Fines

Offence	Fine
Red light camera (California) Base fine. Added fees bring it to about US$500, plus 1 point. Programmes set up under a 2025 law charge US$100 with no points.	US$100
Red light camera (Florida) No points.	US$158
Red light camera (New York) Not on the driving record.	Up to US$50
Speed camera (California) US$50 at 11 to 15 mph over, US$100 at 16 to 25 mph over, US$200 at 26 mph or more over, and US$500 at 100 mph or more.	US$50 to US$500

The full guide to driving in the United States · Speed cameras in other countries