APBP Publishes Policy Statement on Equity and Traffic Enforcement

APBP believes safe and dignified mobility is a human right. Within this, equitable enforcement for people moving around public space is essential.

APBP believes the legacy practice of armed law enforcement officers enforcing traffic violations denies the communities we serve this right.

APBP supports the decisions made by several organizations to remove traffic enforcementas a component of safety initiatives.[1] APBP endorses efforts to reinforce transportation safety with a more holistic definition that includes freedom from crash risk along with other forms of harm including harassment and racism.

APBP is supportive of alternatives to the traditional model of armed law enforcement of traffic laws. Such recent efforts include replacing armed law enforcement with other trained and unarmed staff to conduct traffic stops. Existing and emerging roadway and vehicle technology can also replace the safety function of traffic enforcement. APBP supports deployment of such technologies, provided that they are transparently and equitably planned and deployed.

APBP encourages an emphasis on self-reinforcing street designs which may reduce or eliminate the perceived need for enforcement (armed or otherwise) as a tool for roadway safety. Self-reinforcing design practices use geometric elements to encourage drivers to select speeds consistent with the posted speed limits and design intent of roadways.[2]

APBP believes that any continued law enforcement related to traffic stops must be monitored and analyzed for bias and potential harm to Black people, Indigenous people, and people of color (BIPOC) and to the LGBTQ community.

APBP supports changes to federal funding programs related to safety that would improve transparency regarding expenditures and effectiveness, implement data reporting requirements related to racial and social equity impacts, and remove mandates for spending on enforcement activities.

Read the full APBP Equity and Traffic Enforcement Policy Statement.


[1] Safety documents often refer to Enforcement as one of the “5 Es” which can vary but typically include education, encouragement, engineering, enforcement, and emergency
response.

[2] Publication Number FHWA-HRT-17-098. Available online at https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/safety/17098/17098.pdf

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