Automatic school speed zone tickets are coming back in Macon, sheriff announces

Automatic speeding tickets in school zones will resume soon in Macon, about a month after the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office suspended them.

A new standard will ensure that speed detection cameras only cite vehicles while yellow school zone lights are flashing in the morning and afternoon, rather than all day, Sheriff David Davis said in a Facebook video Tuesday night. Drivers were previously issued ticketed for speeding during, before and after school hours even while the light was off.

“No citation will be issued unless the speed of the vehicle passing through the school zone is at least 11 miles per hour over the posted speed limit associated with the school zone flashing lights,” Davis said in the post.

The automatic citations will resume at 6 a.m. Monday, the sheriff’s office said.

Any automatic citations issued before Monday will not be enforced, Capt. Linda Howard told The Telegraph.

Which schools will use speed limit cams?

All but two Bibb County schools have agreed to use the automatic ticketing cameras, Howard said.

Bibb County schools can decide to opt in or out of the speed cameras program, as per Georgia law.

If a school decides to opt in, it must obtain a permit from the Department of Transportation.

Stratford Academy and First Presbyterian Day School are the only local schools that opted out of issuing automatic speeding citations and their permits were canceled, Davis confirmed.

It was unclear which other schools in the county will issue automatic citations, and whether citations that were previously issued will still be enforced.

Why Macon paused citations

Davis temporarily halted all automatic speeding citations on March 20, until Georgia legislators could decide how to handle the scrutinized program, The Telegraph previously reported.

Two Republican-led Georgia bills related to automatic speeding tickets in school zones failed to pass before the 2025 legislative session.

Macon Rep. Dale Washburn proposed House Bill 225, which attempted to ban the cameras statewide.

Hartwell Rep. Alan Powell proposed House Bill 651, which attempted to limit how and when the cameras could operate.

“I hope that this can bring clarity to the school zone camera enforcement program and we can move forward,” Davis said.

This story was originally published April 30, 2025 at 11:05 AM.