AUGUSTA, ME – Maine Gov. John Baldacci has signed into law a bill that prohibits the state, or municipalities within the state, from using traffic surveillance cameras to prove or enforce a violation of traffic laws. 

That means no more red-light or speed cameras in the state of Maine. 

The bill was sponsored by Rep. Richard Cebra (R-Naples). 

"While on the surface these cameras may appear to increase public safety, recent studies have shown that they actually increase the occurrences of accidents at intersections where the public is aware that there is a camera," Cebra said in a statement. "The placement of these cameras is also a civil rights issue, creating the issuing of a summons and possible fines and jail time to the owner of a vehicle and not necessarily the actual driver of the vehicle. In many places around the country, these cameras have become nothing more than a moneymaker for municipalities." 

With the passage of the law, Maine becomes the 14^th state to impose such a ban. 

The use of such cameras has generated controversy across the nation, with research studies reaching very different conclusions. Some conclude the cameras promote safer driving, while others suggest they have the opposite effect.