Macon-based lawmaker seeks ban on automatic speed zone camera citations across GA

A Macon-based legislator plans to propose a bill that would ban speeding tickets automatically issued by school zone cameras in Georgia.

State Rep. Dale Washburn (R) said it is ineffective for a camera to ticket someone for speeding, rather than an officer pulling over a driver in the moment.

“These cameras have unfairly issued thousands of speeding citations across Georgia,” Washburn said on Facebook.

Speed cameras issued more than 73,000 tickets between January and November 2024 in Macon-Bibb County, according to the Monroe County Reporter.

Georgia allows school zone speed limits to be enforced not only by law enforcement officials but also by machines.

A 2018 law permits school zone cameras to check vehicle speeds, photograph license plates and send speeding citations by mail.

Drivers can end up receiving the ticket days or weeks after the incident.

Washburn argued that a camera cannot stop someone from speeding if they receive the ticket weeks after the incident.

“If the goal is to slow down traffic speed in school zones, then the most effective way to do that is to have a patrol car park there,” Washburn said.

First violations cost about $100 in Macon-Bibb County and $75 in Houston County and Perry. Each subsequent citation costs about $150 in Macon-Bibb and $125 in Houston and Perry.

Most schools zone cameras in these counties enforce speeds limits before and after school, and during the school day, even when the blinking yellow light signaling a school zone is off, The Telegraph previously reported.

“It is a business, it is revenue by citation and it’s wrong to deceive people,” he said. “The end plot of this is to rake in money. It is not about school safety.”

Washburn said several Republican and Democratic House representatives planned to co-sign House Bill 225 before it was proposed.

This story was originally published January 6, 2025 at 2:12 PM.