11 mph over speed limit

Bay Area drivers may soon get automatic tickets for going 11 mph over speed limit

Madilynne Medina

Drivers may soon get speeding tickets without ever talking to an officer, if a bill gets approved authorizing speed limit cameras. 

The program would give speeding drivers a ticket by using speed cameras and an automatic billing system, according to Assembly Bill 645. "The speed safety system shall capture images of the rear license plate of vehicles that are traveling 11 miles per hour or more over the posted speed limit and notices of violation shall only be issued to vehicles based on that evidence," the bill states. Fines would start at $50 for going 11 mph over the posted speed limit and increase from there.

The new pilot speed camera program would be implemented as soon as January 2024 in several major cities, including San Jose, Oakland, Glendale, Los Angeles, Long Beach and the city and county of San Francisco. The bill was introduced by Assemblymember Laura Friedman of Glendale, according to the bill text. 

The pilot program would be in place for five years, until January 2032, and will be reassessed for the entire state if it’s successful, Kerri West, a spokesperson for Friedman’s office, told the Sacramento Bee.

The bill would require cities and counties participating in the program to send drivers warnings, rather than tickets, for the first 60 days of the program, according to the bill text. It would also require these cities to make records confidential, and specify that the speeding violation is subject to civil penalties, among other requirements. 

The legislators responsible for this program found that speeding was a major factor in traffic collisions. In 2019, 26% of all vehicle crashes occurred because of a speeding driver, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

The bill was passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee on July 11, in a 10-1 vote. Next, it will go to the House Committee on Appropriations, after the senate returns from summer recess after August 15, Isaiah King, senior legislative assistant with Friedman’s office, told SFGATE.

West told Sacramento Bee that three amendments needed to be added in order to pass the bill, which include clarifying the angle of the camera, how long records of penalties will be retained and how many occurrences of street racing would enable the installation of a camera. 

She told the outlet that this is the third attempt at passing the bill.