BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Monday 14 of the 20 school zone speed cameras approved for use in the City of Buffalo will go live.
The speed limit in a school zone is 15 mph, but city officials say the cameras cannot issue a violation for speeds under 26 mph due to a state law.
However, a police officer can issue a violation for speeds 16 mph and above.
The result of violations for the speed cameras and officers are handled differently as well according to city officials.
School zone speed camera violation: cannot issue a violation for speeds under 26 mph. However, anything over 26 mph is treated as an infraction and you're given a $50 fine.
Police officer school zone violation: can issue violation for speeds 16 mph and above, treated as a moving violation, points will go on your license and your insurance will go up.
There will be a grace period for the first 30 days of the program where the citations will be issued as warnings to drivers. The cameras will be active for one hour before and one hour after school is in session.
Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown says the school zones the city selected were based on 311 and police data which means they are areas with high traffic counts and areas that have had accidents in the past.
The vendor of the cameras, GATSO, didn't charge the city to install the software but will instead collect $14 of every $50 collected.
The rest of that money will go towards Buffalo's budget and bolstering public safety and infrastructure around schools.
