After his constituents began to complain about school zone traffic cameras, like those at the schools in Oglethorpe County, State Rep. Dale Washburn (R-Macon) said he had to do something.
“I began to do more, give more thought and investigation to this, and I decided I wanted to introduce a bill to repeal (the school zone cameras),” Washburn said. “Because what I learned was there was a lot of deceit, a lot of entrapment and just a huge amount of money being taken in.”
Georgia House Bill 225 seeks to “repeal all laws relative to enforcement of speeding violations in school zones through the use of automated traffic enforcement safety devices.” As of Feb. 18, the bill had both its first and second readings, and was marked “House Committee Favorably Reported,” according to the Legiscan website.
Washburn said he has six co-sponsors and already received 100 co-signers in favor of the bill.
Washburn claims the cameras’ main purpose is to turn a profit, and the safety of children is a secondary priority.
“Public safety should not be a big money-making proposition for people,” he said. “I often say, you know, this is done by deceit and trickery. These tickets are being written outside of school hours. We have evidence of all sorts of misuses of this where they're just being used to rake money in.”
Local officials, however, do not all share Washburn’s opinion.
The county’s speed zone cameras are around the elementary, middle and high schools on Comer Road and Highway 78. They were activated in October 2023, and according to data gathered from that date to April 2024, speeding slowed from a peak of 1,304 speeders one week to 463 in the final week of that collection.
Speeders caught by the cameras are charged $100 for their first offense and $150 for each ensuing violation. Blue Line Solutions receives 25% of each ticket plus $10.
The rest goes to an account set up for use by the Sheriff’s Office, but administered by the county. The proceeds have helped pay for safety equipment at the county’s schools.
Capt. Mike Tyndell of the Oglethorpe County Sheriff’s Office said the cameras are a necessary part of keeping children within the schools safe.
“It’s absolutely necessary,” Tyndell said. “You also have all the traffic involved, the possibility of kids running across the street. Yeah, I think it’s absolutely necessary.”
Zach Holtzclaw, transportation director for the Oglethorpe County School System, said the cameras contribute to county safety, but he also acknowledged the timing issues.
“Well, I see both sides of the argument,” he said. “It has definitely slowed down traffic, but I also see that they’re in use when school times are not going, so they’re still writing tickets during that time. So I understand the frustration.”
Some have theorized that the cameras target certain demographics, but Holtzclaw wanted to assure that this was not the case.
“Bus drivers in their personal vehicles have received tickets, so, it’s not affecting only the community, it’s affecting people that work for the school system, the sheriff’s department, you know, all of that,” he said. “So nobody is being targeted across the board. If you’re breaking the law, it’s going to catch you.”
Washburn said he believes total repeal would benefit everyone.
“There are many little people in Georgia who are hard working people, who are poor people, who a $100 fine to them is a big deal, and probably has taken food off their table,” he said. “And I believe it is wrong.”
Holtzclaw said there are better compromises to the situation.
“I think the total repeal of them would be ineffective,” he said. “I think, again, they have their time and place.”