No more warnings.
That was the message from Mount Vernon officials as they announced the city will start enforcing speeding violations captured by school-zone cameras. Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard said she hopes the effort will change the mindset of all motorists and lead to more careful driving and fewer accidents throughout the city.
"It's not about making money. It's about saving lives," she said at a press conference Wednesday, Sept. 2, outside the Graham School. "The goal is not more tickets. The goal is fewer violations. The goal is less speeding. The goal is you slowing down in neighborhoods where there are schools."
The cameras were installed in early August and in a testing period registered what city officials called thousands of violations
by cars exceeding the speed limit by at least 11 miles per hour. Warning notices were sent out to the owners of the speeding cars.
But starting on Thursday, Sept. 10, the first day of school, violators will incur $50 fines. A fine notice will be mailed out only after a city police officer has reviewed the video to confirm the violation. The civil fine does not add points on a driver's license.
In all, 38 cameras will be employed around 13 public and private schools in the city. The speed limit in school zones is 15 mph so violations will be issued for motorists who drive 26 mph or more there on school days between the hours of 7 am and 6 pm.
The school zone cameras are not the only weapon the city is employing to improve street safety this fall. Twenty-five red-light cameras are being installed and school buses will be equipped with cameras to catch motorists who don't stop when a bus activates its flashing red lights and stop-sign arm.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: School-zone cameras in Mount Vernon starting with first day of classes
