BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The City of Buffalo School zone speed cameras will go live Monday, January 6, 2020.
The program got started after the state legislature approved the use of up to 20 cameras in school zones to help bolster safety back in August.
It did not cost the city anything because the vendor installed the cameras free-of-charge and will, instead, collect money on the back end.
$14 of every $50 collected from fines will go back to Gatso.
The rest of the fine money will go into the City of Buffalo budget.
14 of the 20 permitted cameras have been installed based on information about accidents and 3-1-1 calls to the city.
Parking Commissioner Kevin Helfer says they can be moved if necessary.
All photos will be taken from behind the vehicle and will not photograph the drivers face. Citations will be issued to the registered owner of the vehicle, not necessarily the driver.
Because of the law allowing for the speed cameras, they cannot issue citations for speeds below 26mph, but a police officer using radar can.
And, if an officer issues a ticket it’s treated as a moving violation where points come off your license and insurance comes up, but the school cameras will issue citations the same way a traffic ticket would work.
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.
