Hit The Brakes: Speed Cameras May Be Coming To LA

Keep an eye on that speedometer. Glendale is one of six California cities that could be designated to be a pilot location for a speed camera program intended to reduce traffic deaths if a bill currently making its way through the state legislature were signed into law.

If passed, the bill will allow pilot cities to install speed cameras to measure vehicle speed and snap photos of cars as they drive through traffic stops. Cameras will be stationed near schools and places with a history of traffic violence or street racing.

About the proposed bill

Assembly Bill 645, which has passed the Assembly but awaits Senate approval, also authorizes San Jose, Los Angeles, Oakland, Long Beach, and the City and County of San Francisco to participate in the pilot program. Assemblymember Laura Friedman, a Glendale Democrat who also heads the Assembly Transportation Committee, is one of the bill's authors.

More than 100 pedestrians are killed by drivers in L.A. each year. The Federal Highway Administration estimates that speed cameras can reduce injury crashes by up to 54%.

“At the current rate of funding, it's going to take 125 years just to re-engineer the 6% of the most dangerous roads in the city of Los Angeles,” says Damian Kevitt with nonprofit Streets Are For Everybody, which co-sponsored AB 645.

“Armed police officers are not the solution to addressing traffic safety issues all over the place. We need another tool.”

Cities like Chicago, Denver, and Portland have cited success with speed camera programs; New York reduced speeding by up to 73% in school areas. But in California, speed cameras are currently illegal.

Concerns about security and burdensome fines

Some civil liberties organizations like the ACLU oppose the bill, citing privacy and government surveillance concerns. Other critics say the program is simply a revenue generator for city governments.

Bill language states revenue must be spent on traffic calming measures, and cities must reduce fines by 80% for those under the poverty line, or “50% for individuals making 250% above the poverty level or less.”

Tickets will not affect insurance rates or take photos of drivers, only the license plate.

They'll work like parking citations — tied to the car, not the person driving it. That means if a camera catches you speeding, you’ll have to pay a fine, but it won’t go on your record.

Citations would start at $50 for 11 to 15 mph over the speed limit, all the way up to $500 for 100 mph or more.

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