Watch your speed, drivers: Palm Bay is getting traffic cameras for its school zones

Finch Walker, Florida Today
·2 min read

The start of school in Brevard comes with a frustrating side effect: long pickup lines, congested traffic and slow speeds near schools. While these things can be annoying to deal with, speeding around them can result in accidents.

That's why Palm Bay Police Department has installed cameras in school zones throughout the city. These cameras will monitor the speed of vehicles during the school day and help prevent speeding in school zones.

"We believe implementation of the school speed zone systems will be a great tool to slow drivers down and bring awareness to the school zones here in Palm Bay," said Palm Bay Police Chief Mariano Augello in a video posted Aug. 2 to the Palm Bay Florida Youtube channel.

What's the goal?

Palm Bay is installing cameras in school zones throughout the city, which will monitor drivers' speeds during school hours, as well as just before and just after the school day. Drivers traveling more than 10 miles per hour above the speed limit will be fined.
Palm Bay is installing cameras in school zones throughout the city, which will monitor drivers' speeds during school hours, as well as just before and just after the school day. Drivers traveling more than 10 miles per hour above the speed limit will be fined.

The goal in implementing cameras is to "address safety concerns and improve traffic compliance" within school zones throughout Palm Bay, according to a statement from Palm Bay Police Lt. Virginia Kilmer, a spokesperson for the department.

She added that traffic studies have shown hundreds of drivers exceed the speed limit within school zones by more than 10 miles every day, and the cameras are a way to hopefully combat that.

"Research indicates that reducing a motorist’s speed by just 5 (miles per hour) can double a child's chance of surviving if struck by a vehicle," she said.

How will the cameras work?

The cameras will use radar or laser speed detection equipment. If a vehicle is traveling 10 miles or more above the posted speed limit, the registered owner of the vehicle will receive a $100 civil violation in the mail. If the registered owner was not the one driving, they can fill out a sworn affidavit stating who the driver was.

The cameras will operate 30 minutes before school starts, throughout the school day, and 30 minutes after the end of the school day. Outside of school hours, during weekends and on holidays, the cameras won't monitor vehicle speed.

Violations won't impact your insurance, and they won't result in points on your driver's license.

Where will the cameras be?

The cameras are under construction and not yet operational, though they're expected to be in use during the 2024-2025 school year, according to police. They will be in these zones throughout Palm Bay:

  • Discovery Elementary

  • Christa McAuliffe Elementary

  • Columbia Elementary

  • John F. Turner Elementary

  • Jupiter Elementary

  • Lockmar Elementary

  • Pineapple Cove Classical Academy at Lockmar

  • Riviera Elementary

  • Royal Palm Charter

  • Palm Bay Academy Charter School

  • Palm Bay Elementary

  • Westside Elementary

  • Palm Bay Academy Middle

  • Southwest Middle

  • Odyssey Charter Jr./Sr. High

FLORIDA TODAY reached out to other municipalities throughout Brevard to find out if they use cameras within school zones. Melbourne, West Melbourne and Titusville responded, saying they do not use the cameras, though Titusville is working toward installation.

Finch Walker is the education reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Walker at [email protected]. X: @_finchwalker.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Slow down: School zones in Palm Bay will have cameras monitoring speed

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