PALM BAY, Fla. — Sheridan Keber either bikes or drives through two school zones near his Palm Bay home several times a day, and he said he believes school speed zone rules are too complicated and the camera used to catch motorists going too fast rolled out too quickly.
Keber goes right past the school zone enforcement cameras put up earlier this year to crack down on speeders.
What You Need To Know
- Palm Bay resident Sheridan Keber says the school speed zone enhancement camera program was rolled out too quickly
- Keber goes past the cameras several times a day on his bike or in his vehicle
- The city has suspended the program for a second time, this time through at least the end of the school year
- Mayor Rob Medina said the program is needed and the city and vendor just need to ensure the system's issues are resolved
“When the yellow light is blinking, you got to do this speed. When it’s not blinking for so much time, you got to do this speed," Keber said. "It’s just too much, too fast.”
The city of Palm Bay is suspending its school zone speed enforcement camera program for a second time for ticketing issues, this time at least through the end of the current school year.
Once again, the city is working with the camera vendor to determine how to get the system working properly.
City leaders say the program hasn’t met their standards.
There has been a public outcry over the problems, with dozens of residents complaining to the city about their inaccuracy.
“We suspended to afford the company the opportunity to fix these issues, but the issues of speeding in our school zones still remain,” Palm Bay Mayor Rob Medina said.
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- Palm Bay suspends school zone camera program through rest of school year
Palm Bay police initially paused its school zone speed enforcement cameras after some complained of incorrect fines or speeding infractions on days when schools were closed.
During an audit, police found glitches and ended up refunding or dismissing incorrect violations because of the errors.
The department worked to ensure all school zones have proper labeling and correctly timed flashers, but the problems continued.
“The city of Palm Bay has 16 different schools. We cannot patrol all these schools," Medina said. "And how do we protect these children? So I truly believe this is a good resource that’s available. They just need to fix the inter-workings of what’s going wrong.”
The mayor said he believes every citation issued since the camera program began must be thrown out and refunded.
Keber says suspending the program is the right thing to do for now.
“It was time to take the pause, step back, find out where we’re going,” Keber said.
No time frame was announced for when the camera program will be reinstated, or whether they might say that it has been ended for good.
For now, as the city works through the camera program's issues, drivers who received violations from the school zone speed enforcement camera program can pay the violation online, by phone or through the mail. They also can request a hearing date for a magistrate. The details can be found on the Palm Bay website or by containing RedSpeed at 1-877-204-0867.