Drivers near four Duluth schools should keep a close eye on their speedometers starting August 5.
That’s when new speed cameras will be turned on in school zones outside Chattahoochee Elementary School, Mason Elementary School, Duluth Middle School and Coleman Middle School. The cameras from company RedSpeed will automatically flag drivers going 15 miles per hour or more over the speed limit during school hours for ticketing by the Duluth Police Department.
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August 5 will be the start of a 30-day warning period; anyone caught speeding on camera will be given a written warning. September 4 will be the first day speeders will be ticketed through the camera system.
Tickets start at $75 and go up to $125 for repeat offenders. These ticket amounts are generally less than those that come with a ticket issued by an officer during a traffic stop, and do not add points to a driver’s license. RedSpeed, which installs the cameras for free, gets a 35% cut of ticket revenue, and the remaining money must be used by the city of Duluth for public safety purposes.
The camera captures license plate information of speeding cars and police officers review each case before a ticket is approved to be issued. Tickets are sent in the mail to the address associated with the car seen speeding.
The cameras allow police to monitor the school zones in real time not just for speeders, but also vehicles flagged for possible wanted persons or associated with an emergency, like an Amber Alert.
RedSpeed has partnered with more than 20 city and county police departments in Georgia since 2018, when a new law allowed their cameras in the state. Lilburn is one of those cities, with cameras outside Trickum Middle School and Arcado Elementary School.
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