Safety Cameras Cut Speeding by 72%
As a result of an unprecedented rise in traffic and pedestrian accidents in 2023 the San Francisco Metropolitan Transportation Authority (SFMTA) initiated a test program installing fifteen speed cameras at major intersections throughout the city in March of this year. The results of the first few months of the test project are stunning. Maybe it is time for Los Angeles to consider safety cameras in South Park.
The test cameras were programed to photograph license plates of all cars going through intersections in excess of 11 mph over the posted speed limit. After an initial spike in citations, weekly totals declined dramatically along with the average violator speed. In one test intersection at Geneva Street, for example, over 31% of cars exceeded the 11mph over the speed limit before camera installation. After installation the average percentage of cars exceeding the test limit dropped to 3%! And, according to SFMTA, two-thirds of the vehicles caught once have not reoffended, indicating better driver behavior.
Overall, in the test corridors, speeding has dropped by 72% compared to the prior year in locations where the cameras have been installed, reports James Salazar in the San Francisco Examiner. The SFMTA emphasized that the dramatic speed reduction was only seen in corridors where the cameras were installed and were not evident in intersections where cameras were not installed. Naturally.
It is evident that it would be advantageous to instigate a similar test program on major traffic arteries here in South Park. Speeding (and, in fact drag racing) has long been an issue on Grand Ave. between Olympic and 17th Ave. and between the same cross streets on Hope, Olive, Flower, and Figueroa. As a resident on one of these streets I have often remarked that a traffic tragedy is bound to happen here.
Numerous requests of LAPD traffic division have resulted in no increase in efforts to control speeds on these streets. A traffic camera or two on Grand Ave. and surrounding north/south streets would go a long way toward insuring we don’t have a headline event in the near future. As the cameras require no on-site manpower and negligible office backup, there would be minimal stress placed on the city’s budget and these cameras would very likely pay for themselves in a matter of months through citation income.
To me, this looks like a great way to solve a big problem with very little investment. What do you think? Is this a community band wagon we can get on?
By John Nilsson