School zone speeding cameras rev up criticism in Manatee County

Tara resident Elizabeth Barry can afford to pay $300 for the three tickets she was issued by a speed detecting camera in the school zone at Tara Elementary School, but she's going to fight them on principle. 

“It’s absolutely, positively a trap,” she said of the camera’s position in front of the school.

Many residents agree with Barry that the signs around Manatee County school zones do not adequately make drivers aware of what the speed limit is before the cameras snap a photo. 

“I do not object to the rule (of no speeding in a school zone),” Tara resident Sandy Coffman said. “But the signage should be appropriate and more noticeable.” 

Barry’s tickets were also issued outside of the flashing beacon hours, when students are traveling to and from school. 

At the Feb. 4 Manatee County Commission meeting, commissioners unanimously approved turning the cameras off in the middle of the day when students are safely indoors. The cameras will now only issue tickets 30 minutes before and after the start and end of the school day.

The board also voted to set a uniform speed limit of 20 miles per hour in school zones to lessen some of the confusion for drivers. The speeds had been either 15 or 20 miles per hour, depending on the school zone. 

There were 34 school zones that had signs showing 15 miles per hour. Only eight of those school zones had speed detecting cameras installed. 

Strategic Affairs Manager Ogden Clark said those eight were updated to show 20 mph by Feb. 6. The remaining locations will have updated signage by the end of the day on Feb. 12.

The cost of speeding

The cameras were placed in front of 30 elementary, middle and high schools throughout the county at the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year, based on where drivers posed the most risk to children.

Since the cameras were installed in August 2024, approximately 30,200 tickets were issued through the end of January 2025. 

Commissioner Tal Siddique said the fines are disproportionately affecting low income, working class residents who can't afford to contest the tickets.

Photo by Lesley Dwyer

Each ticket carries a $100 fine, and the driver has to be traveling 10 miles over the speed limit to be ticketed.

“I’m the one who made the motion (in October 2022) to get rid of the red light cameras,” Commission Chair George Kruse said. “There’s a time and place for these things, but they always end up being a money grab, and this is no exception.” 

Kruse said the long period during the day when the cameras are on but children are at their desks “disproportionately adds to the revenue stream.” 

He's correct. Out of the 1,674 tickets written in front of Tara Elementary School from Sept. 12 through Jan. 27, 1,039 were issued in the middle of the day when the lights were not flashing.

The Observer requested data from Manatee County on Feb. 4 that would show the split between how many tickets were written during hours when the flashing beacons were on versus when they were off. On Feb. 10, the county said additional time was needed to compile a report.

RedSpeed is the county’s vendor for the cameras. RedSpeed Vice President Greg Parks said the company has 70 customers in Georgia and 28 in Florida. 

RedSpeed collects $21 on each violation that’s issued. Approximately 30,200 tickets equals $634,200. The county collects $39 on each ticket, which equates to $1,177,800 and must be spent on Public Safety initiatives. 

The remaining $40 of each ticket goes toward programs outside the county, such as the School Crossing Guard and Recruitment and Retention Program.

Commissioner Jason Bearden had a question for commissioners and staff during the meeting, “Should we start over?”

Bearden wanted to know if the county could issue refunds to anyone who was issued a ticket, but Kruse pointed out that the county doesn’t have all the funds that were paid, and not all 30,000+ tickets have been paid yet.

Even though the hours of enforcement have since changed, motorists who received tickets must either pay the fine or contest the notice of violation.

Commissioner Bob McCann said the traffic court magistrate is “throwing (the tickets) out left and right.” 

However, if the violation is not thrown out, the penalty for contesting the ticket is the original $100 and up to $250 more to cover additional county costs. Failure to pay or contest the violation can result in fines of up to $1,000 and a suspended license. 

Deputy County Administrator Courtney De Pol said residents can contact Code Enforcement if they're having any issues.

“Follow the instructions on the ticket first,” De Pol said. “If there is an extenuating circumstance, contact us.” 

De Pol used the example of calling the number on the ticket and not being able to get a hold of someone because there’s a constant busy signal. 

Signage is another example. If a resident feels there was inadequate signage, code enforcement can ask the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office to assess the site. 

But ultimately, residents have to act. Even though changes have been made to the system, the tickets that were written are still valid.