The school year is about to begin for Thomasville City School students, and with it comes the need for safety in our school zones. The Thomasville Police Department (TPD) reminds drivers that automated speed enforcement devices within Thomasville City Schools’ zones will begin monitoring speeds and issuing citations on Monday, August 2nd. Automated speed enforcement zones are located along South Broad Street, East Jackson Street, West Jackson Street, and East Clay Street.
“The number one goal of this program is to protect our children from traffic fatalities through compliance of speed limits within school zones,” said TPD Chief John Letteney. “We encourage our residents and visitors driving through school zones to not only obey speed limits but to also be extra cautious of their surroundings.”
Aiming to slow traffic and create safer school zones for area students, the automated speed zones were installed in 2020 as part of a partnership between TPD and RedSpeed USA. To date, RedSpeed USA, an Illinois-based provider of automated photo enforcement devices, has partnered with over 40 law enforcement jurisdictions in the state of Georgia. The devices are active and detecting speeding of all kinds any day school is in session from 7:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. They specifically monitor for school zone speed limits- which are slower than regular speed limits- from 7:30-8:30 a.m. and again from 2:30-3:30 p.m. The devices are not active on weekends or school holidays.
“In 2018, Georgia House Bill 978 was passed, allowing for automated speed enforcement in school zones,” said Chief Letteney. “HB 978 was introduced after a nationwide spike in pedestrian fatalities over the past decade, during which Georgia became one of the five deadliest states for pedestrians. Automated enforcement is endorsed as a safety tool by the Governors Highway Safety Association, AAA, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, and the National Safety Council.” Chief Letteney agrees that automated speed zones can be useful tools in helping to reverse these dangerous nationwide trends.
Automated speed enforcement violations are reviewed and approved by a sworn officer before a citation is issued and mailed by RedSpeed to the address associated with the vehicle. “Fines begin at $75.00 and go up to $125.00 for repeat offenders. These citations do not go on a driver’s history,” said Chief Letteney. “RedSpeed is the authorized contractor to manage the systems and process the violation notices, which can be contested in municipal court. Fines remitted to the City can only be used for public safety-related purposes.”
Chief Letteney said that there is ample signage marking these speed enforcement areas. “In order to promote compliance and safety, all of our speed zones are marked with school speed zone signage that exceeds minimum size requirements from the State of Georgia,” said Chief Letteney. “Overall the number of citations issued in these areas has decreased, showing us that the devices have deterred motorists from speeding in the school zones. Together, we can make the streets of Thomasville- especially in school zones- safe for not only the children but for all citizens that are walking or driving in these areas.”
For more information about automated speed enforcement in school zones and a list of frequently asked questions, visit Thomasville.org.
Pictured Above: Signage installed in school zones