Maine Traffic Camera Ticket Laws: Why Red Light and Speed Cameras Are Banned
Maine is one of the clearest camera-ban states in the country. State law bars the use of a traffic surveillance camera to prove or enforce almost any motor vehicle violation, and that ban has been on the books since 2009 and reaffirmed since. If you got a ticket in Maine that you believe came from a red light or speed camera, the statute itself is a strong starting point for understanding why that should not have happened, and where the real, narrow exceptions actually sit.
The Ban: 29-A M.R.S. Section 2117
Maine's ban is written broadly and directly. Section 2117 states: «Except as provided in subsections 1 and 2, the State or a municipality may not use a traffic surveillance camera to prove or enforce a violation of this Title.» The statute defines a «traffic surveillance camera» as a device that, in conjunction with a lighted traffic-control device or a lane direction control device, automatically produces a photograph, microphotograph, videotape, or other recorded image of a vehicle at the time it is operated in violation of state law. That definition squarely covers red light cameras and any camera tied to a traffic signal, and its practical effect reaches automated speed enforcement the same way.
The ban was enacted by PL 2009 c. 223 and amended by PL 2019 c. 318, which added the school-bus stop-arm exception discussed below. The 2019 amendment is worth noting for what it did not do: it did not weaken the ban or open any new camera-enforcement pathway for red light or speed violations. If anything, the legislature has moved in the direction of clarifying and preserving the ban rather than eroding it.
The Two Exceptions, and Why They Do Not Reopen the Ban
Section 2117's own exceptions are narrow and specific:
- School-bus stop-arm cameras. A camera mounted on a school bus may be used to enforce stop-arm violations under 29-A M.R.S. sec. 2308(2). Recordings from these cameras are confidential and subject to a 30-day retention cap unless they are released for an investigation or prosecution.
- Maine Turnpike toll photo-monitoring. The Maine Turnpike Authority may use photo-monitoring for toll enforcement under 23 M.R.S. sec. 1980. This is a billing and toll-collection mechanism, not a red light or speed camera program, and it sits outside the sec. 2117 ban by design.
Neither exception touches red light or speed enforcement on ordinary roads. If you receive a bus stop-arm citation or a turnpike toll notice, you are dealing with one of these two carved-out systems, not a workaround to the general ban. Because this cluster covers red light and speed camera tickets specifically, the stop-arm layer is out of scope here beyond this clarifying note, and turnpike toll billing mechanics under 23 M.R.S. sec. 1980 were not independently opened this session, so treat any specific dollar or process claim about toll billing as a question for the Maine Turnpike Authority directly rather than something this page confirms.
Information last verified on 2026-08-12. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.
Related Resources
- Traffic Camera Ticket Laws by State
- Do You Have to Pay a Camera Ticket?
- How to Fight a Camera Ticket
- Mississippi Traffic Camera Ticket Laws
- Can You Get a Speeding Ticket Without Being Pulled Over?
Last updated: 2026-08-12.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are red light cameras legal in Maine?
No. 29-A M.R.S. sec. 2117 bars the state or any municipality from using a traffic surveillance camera to prove or enforce a violation of the Motor Vehicle Title, which covers red light enforcement.
Are speed cameras legal in Maine?
No. The same statute, 29-A M.R.S. sec. 2117, prohibits camera-based speed enforcement. Maine has no local-option or pilot-program exception for speed cameras.
Does Maine's camera ban have any exceptions?
Two, and both are narrow: school-bus-mounted cameras that enforce stop-arm violations under 29-A M.R.S. sec. 2308(2), and Maine Turnpike Authority toll photo-monitoring under 23 M.R.S. sec. 1980. Neither authorizes red light or speed camera tickets.
Can Maine Turnpike toll cameras issue tickets?
Toll photo-monitoring is a separate enforcement track for unpaid tolls, not a red light or speed camera ticket, and it is expressly carved out of the sec. 2117 ban. It is worth distinguishing from the ban because readers sometimes assume «no camera enforcement» covers tolls, and it does not.
If I get a school-bus stop-arm camera ticket in Maine, does the camera ban apply?
No. School-bus stop-arm cameras are one of the two statutory exceptions to Maine's camera ban and operate under their own rules, including a confidentiality requirement and a 30-day retention cap on recordings unless released for an investigation or prosecution.
Updates
Independently fact-checked against the cited primary sources
Sources and References
- 29-A M.R.S. sec. 2117, Traffic surveillance cameras prohibited (with school-bus and turnpike exceptions)(mainelegislature.org).gov
- 29-A M.R.S. sec. 1454, Driver License Compact, Article IV (effect of convictions in home state)(mainelegislature.org).gov
- 23 U.S.C. 148, Federal Highway Safety Improvement Program (no camera-specific national mandate)(law.cornell.edu)
- NHTSA/FHWA, Speed Safety Camera Program Planning and Operations Guide (2023)(pedbikeinfo.org)