Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation that will allow San
Francisco, Los Angeles, and four other cities to use speed cameras to increase
pedestrian safety.
Speed cameras can be installed next year in six cities,
including San Francisco and Los Angeles after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed
legislation on Friday approving a trial run of enforcement systems that can
automatically flag errant drivers for citations.
The new state law comes as pedestrian deaths have spiked in
California and across the country because of more reckless driving, bigger
vehicles and a lack of traffic enforcement.
Legislators and advocates for pedestrian safety had tried
but failed three times in six years to push a speed camera law through the
State Legislature. Opponents had raised concerns that the cameras would invade
driver privacy and that people of color in low-income neighborhoods would
receive a disproportionate share of citations.
After lawmakers amended the proposal this year to address
such concerns, including allowing low-income people to perform community
service instead of paying the fines, the bill made it out of the Legislature
for the first time in September.
California is a latecomer to the use of speed cameras, which
are deployed in 205 communities around the country, including cities like New
York City, Chicago, and Boston. Studies have found that drivers slow down
significantly at camera locations; in New York, speeding in such locations has
dropped by 73 percent.
Like red-light cameras, which are already in use in
California, speed cameras give cities the ability to automatically record
license plates and issue tickets when motorists violate the law.
San Francisco officials will be allowed to install 33
automated speed cameras in the city, and drivers caught going at least 11 miles
per hour above the posted limit will be fined $50. The fines will increase for
motorists going at even higher speeds.
The cities of Long Beach, Glendale, Oakland and San Jose
will also be allowed to install cameras.
Residents of many cities, including San Francisco, have
complained that drivers have become increasingly reckless since the coronavirus
pandemic. Despite such concerns, police departments are struggling to boost
their enforcement of roadways.
In September 2015, the San Francisco Police Department
issued 948 speeding tickets, or more than 30 per day. This September, the
department issued just 91 such tickets or three per day.
