FLORIDA — We recently met up with Joe Weaver at the scene of the...violation.
“As soon as I make this right turn here, unbeknownst to me at this juncture, all I can see is just the pole here,” he describes while walking the intersection of Old Hillsborough Avenue and Kings Highway near Lopez Elementary School in Hillsborough County.
Watch full report from Katie LaGrone
The pole he shows us is equipped with a camera to catch drivers speeding while traveling through the school speed zone.
Back in April, the camera clocked Weaver going 38mph in the 20 mph school speed zone. The act cost him $100.
But Weaver doesn’t dispute that it was him behind the wheel or that he was going over the 20 mph zone limit, he believes the violation was issued to him in error.
“I’m not happy, I’m not happy,” he said.
That’s because what the camera doesn’t show is the speed limit sign that’s posted warning drivers that the speed limit is 20 mph “when flashing,” wasn’t flashing at the time.
In fact, it can’t.
“There's not a device that would afford a light to flash because they did not attach a lighting system or flashing system to this particular post,” he explained.
As a result, Weaver believes he was unfairly issued a violation for speeding in a speed zone when the school speed zone sign wasn’t flashing.
“It’s shameful,” he said.“The sign you posted here is not in compliance, but drivers are expected to do the right thing,” said Weaver.
Student protection or profit?
Approved by the legislature in 2023, school speed zone cameras are gaining popularity in Florida.
Their intent is to “improve student safety by deterring dangerous driving behaviors around schools.”
Since February, Investigative Reporter Katie LaGrone has reported on problems with new school camera detection systems, including school bus cameras.
The extra eyes in speed zones have already been implemented in more than half a dozen Florida cities and counties, with more ready to roll.
Confusion, frustration force some communities to suspend cameras
But as more cameras get implemented in Florida school zones, confusion and frustration among drivers and local leaders is mounting.
In March, Manatee County commissioners shut down their cameras altogether, with some calling the cameras a cash grab.
In May, the city of Palm Bay also stopped recording over “inconsistencies in the accuracy of information,” according to a May press release.
Last month, Joe Weaver challenged his violation before a special magistrate in Hillsborough County.
“Since I didn’t see the flashing light, I assumed the speed limit was 40,” he told Special Magistrate Thomas Santarlas.
The magistrate agreed with him.
“That’s a great argument and I agree with you 100%,” Magistrate Santarlas said.“If that light is not blinking, people are going to think it’s safe to do the speed limit,” he said.
Not so fast.
Dangerous drivers or flawed law?
According to the state’s law on school speed zones and cameras, flashing lights aren’t necessary and can be used “as an alternative” to signs that post times when school speed limits are enforced.In weaver’s case, signs indicating the time school zones are enforced are posted in other parts of the school zone.
So, according to state law, Weaver was still in the wrong.
In response to our questions, a spokesperson from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s office, which issued Weaver’s violation, stated in an email that they don’t have “discretion over how the law is written.”
“We are aware that the implementation of any new technology—especially one involving enforcement—may surface questions and areas for improvement. However, we do not have discretion over how the law is written. If there are opportunities for the law to be refined or clarified, that responsibility ultimately lies with the legislature.” - Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office
Magistrate Santarlas shared his frustrations during Weaver’s hearing.
“The statue has to be revisited. I don’t like it,” he said.
“This was clearly confusing,” said Jay Beeber, Executive Director of the National Motorists Association, a driver advocacy organization.
“If the sign says it's 20 mph when flashing, and there's no flashing on the sign, then I think any reasonable person could say that speed limit is not in effect because the sign is not flashing,” he said.
Beeber’s organization is critical of all automated enforcement programs, including school speed zone cameras.
“I really think it’s a money grab!”
“They tend to be, we're going to ticket a whole bunch of people that actually probably don't deserve these tickets and it's not what the program was sold to the public as and it's just becoming a revenue generation scheme,” he said.
You can’t ignore there is lot of money being generated from school speed zone cameras.In just the first two months of school last year, neary $3 million worth of violations were issued in the handful of communities with cameras. Most of the money from paid fines stays in the county or city where the violation occurred.
Joe Weaver remains on the hook for $100. While the magistrate upheld the violation, he did waive the extra $75 charge that Weaver could have been charged for contesting his fine. All part of a new camera program that’s meant to keep students safe, but critics believe has its eyes set on doing more.
“One shouldn't have to guess or be baffled by what's right and what's wrong,” Weaver said.“I really think it’s a money grab,” he said.
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