When Traffic Enforcement Makes Roads More Dangerous

In a piece for Streetsblog USA, Kea Wilson describes the thesis of a new book that “argues that America's approach to traffic policing isn't truly designed with safety in mind because it's fueling a dangerous carceral cycle that may actually leave our communities more deadly, car-dependent, and oppressive to us all, especially the most vulnerable.”

The book, Cars and Jails: Freedom Dreams, Debt and Carcerality by Julie Livingston and Andrew Ross, lays out the evidence for their claim. “In some ways, Livingston and Ross argue, extractive fines and extreme police harassment for even the most minor vehicle violations have been an integral part of motordom since its beginning, particularly for the people of color who shoulder an overwhelming majority of both burdens.”

That tendency increased when tax rates were reduced in the 1970s and 1980s, forcing cities to look to new sources of revenue. “Today, much of America's $4 trillion municipal bond load is directly backed by what banks believe will remain a stable stream of money extracted from road users by police and the courts.”

The consequences ripple far beyond fines, impacting road safety. “Because so many Americans live in car-dependent places, a lot of drivers with suspended licenses have no choice but to keep driving anyway — and if they hit someone, they're far more likely to flee the scene and leave their victim to die.” Meanwhile, punitive systems ensnare people in a cycle of fines and jail time, even for violations that didn’t threaten public safety.