Road speed detection systems for 206 schools roar ahead

A county committee on Tuesday sped forward legislation to allow installation of road speed detection systems in 206 public and private school zones in unincorporated areas. The county is already negotiating a contract to make that happen.

The Chairman’s Policy Council and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee with no discussion unanimously recommended approval, with final commission action due later.

The measure by Vice Chairman Anthony Rodriguez would piggyback on a new state law allowing counties to enforce speed limits on roadways maintained as school zones by using speed detection systems.

Florida school zones have minimum speed limits of 15 miles per hour and a maximum of 20 during posted hours when children are likely to be present. The county legislation says “speed violations in school zones in the unincorporated area of the county are rampant, with the Miami-Dade Police Department issuing nearly 2,500 citations for speeding in a school zone in the last year alone.”

Police could have issued many more citations with the aid of a speed detection system, the legislation says.

County commissioners this month approved acquisition of an automated school zone speed detection and enforcement system and directed the mayor to negotiate a contract with Redspeed Georgia LLC, a division of Redpeed International, developers of new camera enforcement software.

The Redspeed software can detect speeding, red lights, average speed, mobile phone use, high occupancy vehicles, railway crossings, seatbelt use and other traffic violations.

The county is seeking a “turnkey installation and operations of an automated speed detection and enforcement system at school zones which accesses the terms and conditions of the competitively awarded contract between the City of Alpharetta, Georgia, and Redspeed.”

In Florida, no warnings are issued for driving above the limit in school zones. Fines for exceeding school zone speed limits up to 9 miles per hour is $50, rising to $200 for speeding 10 to 15 miles over the zone limit. For 25 to 29 miles over the limit the fine is $300. Over 30 miles above the limit, the fine starts at $250 but a judge may double that.

This year’s new state law allows counties to install a “portable or fixed automated system used to detect a motor vehicle’s speed using radar or LiDAR and to capture a photograph or video” of cars that speed past. The speed detection system and photos or videos, the state law says, can be used to cite motorists going more than 10 miles over the speed limit in the zone.