MORRISTOWN, Tenn. — Drivers in Morristown may have driven past a few signs warning about a speed camera, even after Tennessee banned most of the cameras in 2015. The only places allowed to have speed cameras, according to the Tennessee Code, are school zones and on "S" curves.
Morristown's cameras are located at the intersection of W. Andrew Johnson Highway and Airpark Boulevard and go down Airpark Boulevard.
"I feel like we just need to get rid of them because they're not legal. Like, they're unethical at this point. Like, we don't need them anymore," said Sosha Bullington, a resident of Morristown.
The Morristown Police Department said they are not used anymore. In an emailed statement to WBIR, the department's public information officer said, "We do not do automated speed enforcement."
Some residents said they're not being used, they believe the cameras should go away.
"If a person or a utensil is obsolete at my job, we have to get rid of it," said Clyde Cunningham, a Morristown resident. "We're not allowed to just leave it lying around the shop. So why should they be allowed to leave their equipment lying around if they're saying it's obsolete?"
A Knoxville attorney said unmanned traffic enforcement cameras may not know who is driving when a ticket is issued, making them hard to enforce in court.
"Well, the problem with speed cameras is that, just like red light cameras, what they do is they take a picture of the license plate of the car. On its own, it's impossible to enforce it because they don't know who's driving the car," said Allen E. Schwartz, an attorney.
He also said tickets from unmanned cameras "must have it printed that non-payment of this cannot adversely affect your credit score or report, driver's license, and/or automobile insurance rates."
"If I got one of those tickets, I wouldn't pay it. Now, I'm not telling people not to pay it. But if I got one of those tickets, I wouldn't pay it," he said.
Cities in Tennessee may still try to collect payment for those tickets, sending notices or letters through the mail.
"If you don't have to pay it, and they do pay it, then it's not right. I mean, it, you know, if it's a voluntary thing then they need to be upfront about it," said Chris Cole, another Morristown resident.
Not everyone in the state is opposed to unmanned cameras. One said they may incentivize people to drive safely.
"They got their purpose, like everything else. I mean, yeah, I support them slowing down, it slows people down," said Hunter Rogers, a Grainger County resident.