They say that the cameras are mainly there as a source of income, doing little for security
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- A new draft law in Georgia would remove speed cameras from all academic areas on a state scale.
- Drivers claim that speed cameras emit unfair tickets, citing calibration and timing errors.
- Opponents think that cameras provide constant application even without police.
Georgia legislators seem to have a little memory because they now want to kill speed cameras in school zones, less than a decade after having authorized them for the first time. In 2018, the state gave the green light for these cameras, but only in school zones, for reasons which probably seemed reasonable at the time. NOW? The same legislators are ready to be backpedal. And while the bill has its detractors, it is already overcome in the house.
Speeding cameras are a sticky subject almost everywhere. In Georgia, complaints would have flooded tickets on tickets wrongly. Citizens say that the cameras cite them for driving above the speed limit even when the school is not in session.
“The cameras are not calibrated and they launch out for hours and after class hours and people get speeding tickets and they shouldn’t do it. This is a big problem that happens now, ”said state representative Brian Prince.
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The problem here? Calibration or absence of it. The resolution of this problem seems to be a difficult sale for certain legislators, so instead, they opt for a simpler solution: get rid of the cameras.
Since 2019, cameras have generated more than $ 112 million in 54 cities and counties, according to WANF-TV. However, Macon Republican Dale Washburn, sponsor of the house Bill 225, says that the number is in fact more than $ 200 million. And, of course, the companies that run the cameras take their reduction in these income.
“The cameras in the school area have generated more than $ 200 million to the detriment of citizens of Georgia,” Washburn wrote in an article on Facebook earlier during the day.
“These camera companies are engaged in deception and cunning,” said Washburn The Associated Press. “Their goal is to write tickets, not to improve children’s safety.” Of course, not everyone feels that.
A mixed bag of opinions
On the other side of the debate, supporters argue that the cameras actually work. In Decatur, a local police chief claims that the pace dropped 92% in school zones after the installation of cameras. “We could not get these discounts if it was not for the application of photos in school zones,” they said.
Here is another thing that might seem a little wild. Bill 651 would prevent the State from having the capacity to block registration for people who do not pay their fines. It strangely resembles a bizarre situation in Maryland, where only three drivers have accumulated more than 330 tickets and have kept their driving license. HB 225 and HB 651 have passed the room, but they must always clean the Senate before they can reach the Governor’s office.
It looks like all this debate on the speed camera is far from over. And who knows – by the moment everything is said and done, Georgia may well find a way to keep the cameras, solve calibration problems or scratch everything. Stay listening.
