Athens-Clarke County Police say new speed zone cameras are now operating at three elementary schools in Athens: speeders caught on cameras at JJ Harris, Barnett Shoals, and Whitehead Elementary schools will get tickets in the mail.
From the ACCPD...
Athens-Clarke County’s new school zone speed safety cameras will capture images of vehicles that speed through school zones for the next 30 days.
The Athens-Clarke County Police Department (ACCPD) will issue warnings during the 30-day period to the registered owner of any vehicle that is photographed passing through the school zone in excess of the posted speed limit. There will be no fines associated with the warnings; however, a speeding violation will carry a fine of $75 for first-time offenders after the 30-day warning period ends.
Subsequent offenses will result in a $125 fine. Signs are in place to alert drivers that the school zone is a photo enforcement area and the cameras will only be operational when the beacons are flashing.
School zone speed safety cameras are installed near the following schools: • Barnett Shoals Elementary • JJ Harris Elementary • Whitehead Elementary Traffic studies conducted at these school zones showed a high number of speeding vehicles while school was in session.
“Our priority is to keep our students safe. The school zone speed cameras will encourage drivers to slow down, thereby protecting children before and after school,” said Dr. Xernona Thomas, Superintendent of the Clarke County School District.
“The school zone speed safety camera program is an important component of our community’s traffic enforcement efforts. These devices help us enforce the speed limit and allow us to utililze our officer resources in the most efficient manner throughout Athens-Clarke County,” said ACCPD Chief of Police Cleveland Spruill. “We strongly advise drivers to be alert and to always abide by the posted speed limit. Speeding is always dangerous to people inside and outside of the vehicle.”
The Athens-Clarke County Unified Government contracts with Verra Mobility (VM) to administer its safety program, now consisting of five speed safety cameras. VM determines whether a violation event has occurred and reviews each warning. They forward their findings to the ACCPD where the photographic evidence is reviewed multiple times before a citation is issued.
For more information on Athens-Clarke County’s School Zone Speed Safety Camera Program, visit https://www.accgov.com/9812/Speed-Safety-Cameras. ACCPD has contracted with Verra Mobility, which provides road safety programs for communities across the United States. More information about VM is available at www.verramobility.com.
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