San Francisco speed cameras to start issuing fines
Fines begin for SF Speed cams on Tuesday
After months of warnings SF Speed cams will start issuing fines for speeders captured on camera
SAN FRANCISCO - Starting Tuesday, speeding drivers in San Francisco will begin receiving fines after months of warnings.
The city hopes drivers will change their behavior, and officials say it appears to be working.
San Francisco began placing speed cameras at 33 locations throughout the city in March, and once those cameras went online, they started sending out warnings.
Drivers could see fines of up to $500
What we know:
Those warnings are set to turn into fines on Tuesday, ranging from $50 to $500, depending on how fast drivers are going.
Some drivers say they have already been receiving warnings.
"I got about six," said Jose Zarranz. "My daughter has about 17! Also the same camera."
350K warnings issued
Dig deeper:
San Francisco's Municipal Transportation Agency said the cameras have proven effective in slowing drivers, with about 350,000 warnings issued so far.
"We have seen people get citations, warnings during this warning period, and 70% of those people never get a second citation," said Viktoriya Wise of SFMTA. "I think people are like, 'Oh, I got the warning, I understand the proper speed limit on our streets, I'm going to adjust my behavior.'"
The city said the goal isn't to raise money from the speed cameras. In fact, money raised from the fines goes back into the program and other traffic-calming measures.
The idea is to provide a clear disincentive to speed.
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"I'm optimistic," said Wise."I'm looking forward to everybody adjusting their behavior a little bit as school begins. I'm very excited that we're launching this program in advance of school starting."
Drivers who've received warnings say it's working, and they're changing the way they drive.
"I think I like it," said Zarranz. "Because they're preventing accidents. That's important."
The pedestrian advocacy group Walk SF said there are signs that drivers are slowing down in some of the city's speediest corridors.
The group said speed kills. When a person is struck by a vehicle going 25 mph, they have about a 75% chance of surviving and recovering; increase that speed by just 15 mph, and those statistics flip, with pedestrians having a 75% chance of dying or suffering a life-altering injury.
The speed cameras are part of a pilot program, so the city is limited to 33 locations. However, after a year and a half, the city can review the data and move the cameras if there are new speeding hotspots.
The Source: SFMTA, Walk SF