UC Berkeley SafeTREC has recently released a new research brief titled "An Early Analysis of Speed Safety Camera Program Rollout in California" by former graduate student researcher Kyler Blodgett. The research brief provides an in-depth analysis of California's latest rollout of speed safety camera pilot programs under Assembly Bill 645 (AB 645), which allows 5-year pilots in San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Glendale by their respective departments of transportation.
Drawing on interviews with city staff in Oakland and San Francisco, the brief evaluates how well California’s approach aligns with best practices from other programs throughout the United States, as well as potential challenges that cities may foresee when starting their own pilot program.
The brief finds that AB 645 is prescriptive and detailed in its description of what cities are allowed to do in their pilot, which city staff from San Francisco found was useful because it helped them avoid having to make potentially thorny local decisions on fee rates, interplay with police departments, violation structure, and more.
For example, speed cameras are required to be placed using a comprehensive and data-driven selection process. To note, city staff in Oakland described how cameras were placed based on intersections with the highest rates of speeding, areas with high pedestrian rates like schools and senior centers, and the High-Injury Network.
However, potential challenges remain such as how to manage drivers who have obscured or stolen license plates; how to enforce non-payment of fines without criminalization; and how to sustainably fund the implementation of speed cameras if they become successful at curbing speeding violations, yet generate no revenue from fines.
Read the full publication for more information.
