Gavin Newsom signs bill that could bring automatic speed cameras to six California cities
Speed cameras will be authorized to ticket California drivers in select cities as soon as next year, after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a pilot program bill into law Friday.
While this is the eighth try to authorize speed cameras in the state since 2005, it is the first time the proposal made it to the governor’s desk. Assembly Bill 645 passed the legislature with bipartisan support.
“This has never been about speed cameras. This is about saving lives, but the reason this bill was the first iteration to be passed into law is because of the extensive equity measures we worked to ensure were in AB 645,” the bill’s author Assemblymember Laura Friedman, D-Glendale, said in a news release.
How will AB 645 work?
The “Speed Safety Pilot Program” would mean drivers who are caught speeding by the cameras would receive an automatic ticket without ever talking to a police officer.
Unlike red light cameras, the systems authorized in this bill will not take pictures of the driver. They will only capture the license plates. There will be no points applied against someone’s license, according to the news release.
A first-time ticket on the speed cameras is only a warning.
After a written warning, tickets will only be issued to drivers exceeding the speed limit by over 11 miles per hour and will begin at $50, with fines increasing “due to repetition and velocity.”
What California cities will this affect?
Friedman’s office previously told The Bee that pilot programs could begin next year. Until January 2032, this bill will authorize speed cameras in the following California cities:
- Los Angeles
- San Jose
- Oakland
- Glendale
- Long Beach
- San Francisco
This story was originally published October 16, 2023 at 3:54 PM with the headline "Gavin Newsom signs bill that could bring automatic speed cameras to six California cities."
