Stockbridge police have begun a 30-day warning period to allow drivers to adjust to automated enforcement of school zones in the city.
Cameras have been installed at Red Oak Elementary School and Stockbridge Elementary School. According to a March 14 statement from police, violators will receive warning notices in the mail initially, and new signage alerting drivers of increased enforcement have already been installed.
Officials said the program was instituted after a nationwide spike in pedestrian fatalities over the past decade in which Georgia became one of the five deadliest states for pedestrians, with the seventh highest fatality rate. Automated enforcement is endorsed as a safety tool by the Governor’s Highway Safety Association, AAA, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the National Safety Council.
Stockbridge Police Chief Frank Trammer said he hopes the cameras will reverse dangerous safety trends and encourage drivers to slow down.
“We have high hopes that automated enforcement will encourage drivers to slow down and obey the law,” he said. “Traffic fatalities are the number one cause of death for children aged 5-14 and for young adults (aged 15-29). Very minimal reductions in speed make the roads a lot safer, especially for children.”
City officials said numerous publications have documented how slower speeds can save lives, citing one study by the AAA Foundation which found that children and young adults have less than a 10 percent risk of serious injury or death in an accident at 15 mph, but that the risks climbed substantially with each five-mile-per-hour increment. At 35 miles per hour the risk of severe injury or death is greater than 50 percent.
The Stockbridge program will target the most egregious speeders – those who drive more than ten miles per hour over the posted speed limit in school zones. The cameras will operate from one hour before school until one hour after school, only on school days. A sworn officer will review and approve each citation before it is issued.
The new program will be fully operational and begin issuing real citations April 17. The Stockbridge Police Department has posted a Frequently Asked Questions list to its website and will also be providing updates and answering questions on social media.
