A bill to install speed cameras in California has been proposed.
Recently, Assemblymember Laura Friedman (D-Glendale) proposed the speed safety system pilot program (AB645). The bill would pilot speed cameras in school zones and in streets with the highest injuries and fatalities in the jurisdiction. If passed, the bill would legalize the installation of speed cameras in the cities of Los Angeles, Long Beach, Glendale, Oakland and San Francisco.
According to the bill, speed cameras in the pilot areas will be able to read license plates. If they detect a speeding vehicle, they will automatically issue a ticket to the vehicle’s registered address. Ticket fines would be $50 for 11 to 15 miles per hour(mph) over the speed limit, $100 for 16 to 25 mph above, and $500 for driving at 100 mph or higher.
Local police and other law enforcement agencies are not involved in this process. Drivers caught on speed cameras don’t have to worry about getting a ticket or their insurance rates increasing.
Speed cameras are currently illegal in California, according to the LA Daily News. A bill must be passed by the legislature and signed by the governor before they can be installed. For this reason, speed cameras are different from red light cameras that are already in place.
The bill’s author, Assemblyman Friedman, argued, “It’s meant to slow down cars in areas that are already dangerous, and these cameras can only be used in high-injury networks or in areas that have particularly vulnerable population, like around schools.”
Friedman also argued that installing speed cameras would step up enforcement of speed laws without police confrontation or human bias.
BY HYOUNGJAE KIM [support@koreadaily.com]
