NORTHWEST TALLAHASSEE, FL (WTXL) — One week after Tallahassee's school-zone speed cameras began clocking drivers, new data shows speeding violations dropped near some schools while climbing at others.
WATCH FULL REPORT BELOW:
Data obtained from Tallahassee Police shows the camera watching northbound traffic on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard — near RAA Middle School — flagged 82 potential violations on the first day of the school year. Seven days later, that number dropped to 51, a decrease of nearly 40%.
Over the first five school days, that same camera still flagged 309 potential violations, more than any other location in TPD's report.
Ted, a 73-year-old neighbor who regularly rides his bike through school zones near RAA Middle, said he has noticed a change.
"I've ridden this many times, and I'm used to the traffic, and what I mostly noticed is people going slow, which I'm not used to."
He added a broader message for drivers.
"We all have to be careful. We're all at risk. We have to take care of one another."
Cameras are not the only enforcement in the area. During a visit to the school zone, Tallahassee Police stopped three drivers traveling through the area.
Crossing guard Annie Bowers said she has seen more officers but still worries about the children crossing in her zone.
"We've seen about two wrecks already because they speed."
Bowers said drivers continue to move too fast through the area.
"A ticket is not enough for somebody's life. We already had a little boy almost got hit up here. They need to, our people need to slow down! They get up on these things and just fly through here!"
Not every school zone saw violations decrease. At Rickards High School, the southbound Jim Lee Road camera recorded 8 potential violations on August 14th, then jumped to 58 just four days later. One driver was clocked at 64 miles per hour in that school zone.
Citywide, cameras flagged more than 2,400 potential violations during the first five school days. More than 1,600 of those resulted in $100 notices.
In a written statement, TPD said "it would be premature to draw conclusions about driver behavior" from such a short period of time, but added the department is "encouraged to see any decreases in violations where they are occurring."
ABC 27 will continue tracking the data to see if those early changes hold as drivers get used to the cameras.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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