SUSSEX COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — The Sussex County Sheriff’s Office will launch an Automated Speed Enforcement Program in a “problem” school zone next week.
The cameras are installed in a school zone along Route 40. Randy Campbell, a retired Virginia State Police trooper, said speeding in a school zone is concerning because it significantly increases the likelihood of a crash, and reduces the chance that a pedestrian — especially a smaller one — would survive the impact from a vehicle.
“I worked numerous traffic fatalities,” said Campbell. “And I can tell you the crashes I have worked — some of them fatal — where if compliance would have been in place, I would’ve never been there working a motor vehicle crash. That person would have still been living.”
Campbell is now a Regional Safety Advisor with Blue Line Solutions. In March, Blue Line Solutions conducted a study of the school zone along Route 40. They recorded 2,302 violations over a five-day period, more than 800 of the drivers were going 21 mph over the posted speed limit.
“This data has shown that when you use automated speed enforcement, you get a 90% or greater decrease,” said Campbell. “90% decrease in non-compliant motorists.”
The Sheriff’s Office said that it will be activating the speed enforcement cameras on Monday, Nov. 27th. For the first 30 days, drivers caught speeding will receive a warning, but after that, drivers going more than 10 mph over the posted speed limit will get a ticket in the mail.
“Some people will say this is a speed trap. This is policing for profits and that’s simply not true, because if it was a speed trap or policing for profits, there would be no 10 mph tolerance,” said Campbell. “There would be no public information or education campaign. No warning, anything like that.”
The cameras on Route 40 will only operate during times when students would be walking to and from school.
In 2020, a state law passed allowing cameras in school and work zones. Since then, Petersburg and Richmond also announced the installation of the technology near local schools.
