Cars sit in a mileslong traffic jam on southbound U.S. Route 101 in California’s Bay Area.
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Assembly Bill 645, which authorizes the use of speed cameras capable of ticketing California drivers, is now waiting for Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature after its passage in the California Legislature this week. If approved by Newsom, the speed cameras could be put to use as soon as January 2024, according to Kerri West, communications director for Assemblymember Laura Friedman, D-Glendale. AB 645 calls for a pilot program in some of California’s largest cities — San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, Glendale, Los Angeles and Long Beach — which would last until January 2032, when it could potentially be expanded to the rest of the state, West said.
For the first 60 days of the program, city officials will issue warnings to drivers, rather than tickets, the bill states. After that, drivers will be ticketed a minimum of $50 if the speed cameras are able to capture the license plate of vehicles going more than 11 mph over the speed limit. Ticket penalties increase to $100 for going 16 to 25 mph over the speed limit, $200 for going 26 to 99 mph over the speed limit, and $500 for going more than 100 mph over the speed limit. The penalties in AB 645 are only financial; the automated tickets do not include revoking or suspending driver’s licenses.
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Similar initiatives have been implemented in other major cities including New York, reducing speeding by 73%, Friedman wrote in her press release. Automated speed cameras have also been used in Montgomery County, Maryland, according to the CDC. A 2016 study cited by the agency found that after more than seven years of using the speed cameras, 95% of drivers said they were aware of the cameras, and 76% of those drivers slowed down because of the cameras.
Walk San Francisco, a nonprofit public safety organization, expressed relief at the bill’s passage.
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“With speed as the #1 cause of severe and fatal crashes on our streets, we are relieved and grateful that Senators saw the urgent need for more solutions, which cities like San Francisco are desperate for,” Jodie Medeiros, executive director of Walk San Francisco, told SFGATE in an email statement on Tuesday.
Newsom has not yet indicated where he stands on the bill; he has until Oct. 14 to sign off on, or veto, legislation that passes both the state Assembly and state Senate.
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