The Fort Walton Beach City Council unanimously approved implementing photo speed enforcement cameras that will operate during entire school days rather than just during arrival and dismissal periods, following a presentation from Police Chief Robert Bage at Tuesday’s meeting.
- The automated system will issue citations to drivers exceeding the speed limit by 11 mph or more in school zones.
During school zone hours when beacons are flashing, tickets will be issued at 26 mph in 15 mph zones and 36 mph in 25 mph zones. Outside beacon times but during school hours, citations will be based on the regular posted speed limit plus 11 mph.
“We would hope that we don’t write the first speeding ticket,” Bage said. “I would hope that during the warning period and the educational period, when people know that there’s a repercussion for speeding through the school zones, that nobody speeds through a school.”
Before issuing citations, the city must conduct a 30-day educational campaign with warnings only. The program carries no upfront costs, with funding coming from the $100 citations. Revenue will be split with $39 going to the city, $21 to the vendor Red Speed, $12 to the school board, $5 to crossing guard programs, $3 for law enforcement training, and $20 to state general revenue.
- Recent traffic studies identified eight school zones exceeding 200 violations per day, including St. Mary’s Catholic School, Silver Sands, Edwins, Fort Walton Beach High School, Bruner, and Choctaw. Elliott Point recorded 192 violations.
Councilman Bryce Jeter supported all-day enforcement, citing varied student schedules. “100% [this] needs to be all day long because if you volunteer at a school or like you said, your daughter goes late, checks out early…between doctor’s appointments, mom’s volunteering,” Jeter said. “I’ve personally seen cars speed during the day and there’s a kid crossing the road at 11 o’clock.”
- While Councilman Travis Smith initially questioned the program’s necessity, he ultimately supported it after hearing about speeding complaints from Councilwoman Gloria Deberry near Silver Sands and Fort Walton Beach High School.
Under the contract with Red Speed, the city can terminate the program with notice and faces no equipment removal fees. Police maintain final approval authority over all citations.
According to Bage’s research, Maryland saw a 39% decrease in speeding violations after implementing full-day enforcement, while Washington D.C. reported a 30% drop in injury crashes near cameras after one year.
