New cameras crackdown on speeding in school zones

Hendry County Schools has launched a program to crack down on speeding in school zones.

The program is designed to get drivers to pay attention, slow down and reduce the risk of children getting hurt. A similar initiative is also coming to Cape Coral.

It started on Monday and runs until the end of January.

Speeding through school zones is nothing new.

“They’re speeding actually, right now on the road, we just saw somebody pass about five minutes ago, doing at least 45 when it basically says 30, even if it’s not flashing, then it’s 15. And we have all these young babies trying to get out of school,” said Theresa Reardon, a mother of a Cape Coral student.

David de la Espriella is with RedSpeed Florida the company tasked with putting speed cameras in school zones in Cape Coral and Hendry County.

“In 2018 Florida ranked number one in the country as having the most dangerous school zones. That’s horrendous. So that made it an easy sell for the legislatures in Tallahassee that passes,” said Espriella. “20 Florida counties, both rural and urban, received F grades for driving behavior in school zones.”

A study used by the Hendry County school district showed that for the months of April and September, there were over three thousand violations for speeding in just the school zones for Labelle High School. In the cape, they’re seeing fast speeds too.

“I’ve been taking my son here for five years, and it’s been always a problem,” said Reardon. “There should be a cop on every corner, on every stop.”

There won’t be a cop but there will be a RedSpeed camera, which captures cars going 10 mph over the speed limit.

“If a vehicle is traveling faster than 11 miles per hour through those through that beam, then our video cameras start to record,” said Espriella.

If you don’t think that’s effective, Espriella says it’s proven to be successful in other areas like Georgia.

“A year later, we’re seeing 90% reductions in speeds, and that’s really the goal,” said Espriella.

Since the system was enacted in Manatee County there have been over 9,300 violations totaling over $930,000 in fines.

The good news is out of the $100 fine, $12 goes to the local school district where the violation happened and that money has to go towards improving safety for students.