Data shows that a year after speed cameras were installed in San Francisco, drivers in the city are driving slower, and experts say the technology could have a similar effect after cameras are installed in Los Angeles.
According to a year-long analysis of data collected from 33 camera locations and other traffic-sensing devices in San Francisco, excessive speeding — defined as drivers going more than 10 mph above the speed limit — declined by nearly 80%. The number of repeat offenders also declined.
Roadway and urban engineering experts say San Francisco’s findings parallel the success of other communities across the country that have already implemented speed camera technology.
“The results are clear,” San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie said in a statement. “Drivers are changing their behavior.”
When Los Angeles finishes installing 125 cameras across its 15 districts by the end of July, The city hopes the implementation will lead This will also significantly reduce drivers driving at high speed. According to experts, here are some tips L.A. can take from its Bay Area neighbor.
San Francisco One Year Review
San Francisco and Los Angeles are the only two of six California cities participating in the five-year pilot program, which was authorized by a bill signed into law in 2023. The goal is to tackle the alarming increase in speeding and traffic-related deaths by ticketing drivers who go at least 10 mph over the speed limit.
San Jose, Oakland, Glendale and Long Beach are also participating. San Francisco is the first city to hit the one-year mark.
A fluctuating team of fewer than 15 people within the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency regularly collects and analyzes data from speed cameras and other sensing devices to understand traffic patterns, tracking how many tickets are issued at a given camera location and how fast drivers are going, said Victoria Wise, the agency’s director of roads.
They found that, in one year, the share of drivers traveling 10 mph or more over the posted speed limit increased from 25% to 6% of total traffic. The number was even lower in the latest quarterly review – just 2% of all drivers, the report said.
Over a one-year period, the city transportation agency found that 65% of vehicle owners who received a warning or citation did not reoffend, and 82% of drivers were not cited more than once or twice.
Success of speed cameras in other states
The latest data is consistent with what has happened in other states with speed cameras. was the subject of an event in New York City A study co-authored by Jingqin GaoAssistant director of research at the C2SMART Center, which studies urban transportation, at New York University. They found that, generally, many speed cameras begin to achieve safety benefits within the first six months after their installation, as violations become lower and remain lower over time, indicating a potential change in driver behavior.
“A long-term analysis using three years of data in New York City found that performance varies by location,” Gao said, “but in many cases, most cameras nearly curbed speeding behavior within a year and a half.”
Over a five-year period, New York saw a 60% decline in motorists cited more than twice as often as San Francisco.
“These findings suggest that there may be opportunities to evaluate how cameras are deployed over time,” he said, “including potential removal or reallocation.”
What did San Francisco learn?
As the San Francisco transportation agency collects data on the cameras’ effectiveness, it will focus on the spots with the fastest speeds and find other ways to slow drivers down, Wise said — a practice Los Angeles could replicate.
Additional interventions include stenciled speed limits on the road, speed humps, red-light cameras, as well as partnerships with police and public health departments.
When it comes to reducing excessive speeding on the road, a multi-pronged attack is the way to go, said Wayne Hu, a senior research transportation engineer at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
The Virginia-based nonprofit evaluated a speed management pilot program on rural roads in Maryland, Hu said. There, the jurisdiction had increased police enforcement, installed a speed feedback radar and conducted public outreach. These efforts have resulted in a significant reduction in speed, he said.
“This work is about protecting people, it’s not about generating revenue, and it’s not about penalizing drivers,” said Julie Kirschbaum, transportation director at the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. “Speeding is a leading cause of serious injuries and deaths, so we are very grateful to the state for finally having this tool to make these meaningful changes, and even small reductions in one’s daily (driving) behavior save lives.”
Next up for San Francisco’s program, with the one-year mark behind it, is another evaluation at the 18-month mark, when officials may consider moving it.
It is still uncertain what will happen to the program after the five-year pilot program ends.
Hu said there is no data or research on how long speed cameras should remain in place to maintain speed reductions.
“We conducted a study to evaluate what happened after some large cities in the United States closed their red-light camera programs,” he said. “We found that fatal crashes at signalized intersections increased in these cities after the cameras were turned off.”
