Albany speed camera fines total more than $3 million since 2021

ALBANY — Albany Police Chief Michael Persley is a religious man, but the “scripture” he recently quoted came not from the Bible but from the Georgia Code book and is entitled: Enforcement of speed limit in school zones with recorded images; civil monetary penalty; vehicle registration and transfer of title restrictions for failure to pay penalty.

After an introductory period, license-recognition cameras and speed detection devices went live adjacent to several Albany school campuses in the fall of 2021 and have generated resounding complaints from drivers.

The city of Albany has contracted with RedSpeed International to operate the camera/speed systems that are located at Whispering Pines Road, near Sherwood Elementary School, going east and west; on North Westover Boulevard, near Westover High School, going north and south; on Blaylock Street, near Robert Harvey Elementary, going north and south; and on West Oakridge Drive, near Alice Coachman Elementary, going east and west.

One part of Georgia Code section 40-14-18 that has caught some drivers unaware is that the detection devices are in operation throughout the school day, not just during the morning and afternoon times when students are arriving or departing for the day.

Schools generate lots of traffic throughout the day, Persley said, not just during the morning and afternoon.

“This is part of it,” he said. “People say ‘I don’t see kids walking.’ You have buses coming and going. We have buses taking children back and forth. You have parents. Schools are going to have a higher volume of traffic.”

During the time when students are arriving at campus or leaving at the end of the day, the speed limit is 25 mph in all school zones in the city, and during those times flashing yellow lights alert motorists.

“If the lights are flashing, we want them to do 25,” Persley said.

When the yellow lights aren’t flashing during the periods prior to, after and during the school instructional period, the speed limit is posted on the roadway.

In either case, drivers get a cushion of 10 miles per hour, so that in a 35 mile per hour zone, the speed detection devices do not issue tickets unless the motorist’s speed is 46 or greater. When yellow lights are flashing, a driver must be exceeding the 25 mile per hour limit by at least 11 miles per hour as well in order for a ticket to be issued.

Tickets are mailed to the address of the owner of the car, and a first infraction brings a fine of $75, with second and subsequent citations costing $125. Violations carry no repercussions for the driver in terms of license points and are not recorded in their driving history.

The laws for the devices require that funds generated be used for law enforcement or public safety purposes; they are not transferred to the city’s general operating funds.

The Albany City Commission has approved use of the funds for such things as better signage and lights in school zones and Tasers for officers.

In response to a Georgia Open Records request, the city attorney’s office said that $1.974 million in expenditures have been approved out of the funds.

That spending includes $132,899 for the category of advertising that includes recruitment, Community Outreach Champions of the Week and Facebook management; $198,000 for the supplies and equipment that includes ammunition, active shooter equipment, stop stick accessories, mobile applications and Tasers; $38,700 for training, including leadership development, officer/citizen encounters and media relations; $574,163 for school flashers; $652,053 for the real time crime center, and $378,840 for a program placing observation cameras in the city.

After those allocations, $1.7 million remains in the RedSpeed fund, the office said.

While the tickets have brought in some $3.7 million, the point is not to generate fines, Persley said.

“We want people to be mindful of other people on the road,” he said. “We want people to be mindful throughout the city.”

In September 2018 there was a fatality when children were hit while crossing at the intersection of Leonard Avenue and Mock Road while on their way to school, the chief said. Fortunately, there have been no more severe accidents at a public school since that time.

Since the speed cameras went into action, they have detected drivers traveling at more than 60 miles per hour in school zones, and on at least one occasion nearly 80 miles per hour.

“We want to bring awareness to get people to stop and slow down in school zones,” Persley said. “Typically, you may not see children crossing a crosswalk. You still have children who are being transported or who are driving. A lot of traffic comes through school zones during the day. We just want people to be mindful.

“Everyone has their opinions. Just as many have their opinions against it (speed cameras), just as many have their opinions for it.”

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