Speed Violators Brought Tallahassee $318 Thousand in One Month, and the City Wants More

While speed cameras always cause controversy, in this case they proved to be extremely effective. Just two devices near schools brought the city hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue. In just over a month, over 3 thousand violations were recorded, totaling $318 thousand.

In fact, all these fines were issued from March 28 to May 2. Every day when schools were in session, the cameras recorded an average of 132 violations. Each driver received a fine of $100, bringing the city approximately $13,200 daily. Not a bad result for two small devices.

Interestingly, not all this money stays in the local budget. $21 from each fine goes to the company that maintains the cameras. The remaining funds are distributed among various municipal and state programs. Officials promised to first cover the costs of the system itself, and only then direct the funds to other needs.

By the end of the year, 23 more cameras are planned to be installed. If the trend continues, the new devices could record up to 40 thousand violations per month, bringing the budget about $1.5 million monthly or $18.6 million annually. The message to drivers is clear: slow down, or pay up.

“In the long term, this system will become an important tool for preventing dangerous driving near schools, which can threaten the lives of children, teachers, or crossing guards,” stated Major Jeff Magoon. His words have grounds – all recorded violations involved drivers who exceeded the speed limit by at least 18 km/h (11 mph).

During school hours, the limit is usually 25-30 km/h (15-19 mph), so drivers who were going faster than 50 km/h (31 mph) automatically received fines. Among the recorded violators was even one who was traveling at a speed of 117 km/h (73 mph). Perhaps in such cases, a $100 fine is an insufficient punishment.