New speeding cameras in Arlington have led to fines for over 7,000 drivers since September, new data shows.
As of January, Arlington County had collected $713,525 from motorists speeding in front of school zone cameras. A total of 13,627 alleged violations were prosecuted, but only 7,135 prosecutions have been successful so far, according to a Virginia State Police report.
Since the program began, the reported speeds of vehicles passing the Arlington County Police Department’s cameras have dropped slightly.
The largest change was at Randolph Elementary School, where vehicles’ average speeds dropped by about three mph.
During a one-month warning period, the average recorded speed on the 1200 block of S. George Mason Drive was 24.45 mph. Since the speed cameras went live on Sept. 25, that number has dropped to 21.53 mph.
The speed limit in front of Randolph is 20 mph.
Other changes are more incremental. For instance, while 1,902 drivers have received tickets for speeding in front of Washington-Liberty High School, the average speed there dropped by only about 1.2 mph: from 24.54 mph to 23.3 mph.
The fastest drivers continue to be those in front of Campbell Elementary School on S. Carlin Springs Road — a street infamous for traffic collisions.
The average speed there has dropped from 25.67 mph to 24.31 mph, but still remains above the speed limit of 20 mph. Police have collected $110,600 in fines at this location.
The slowest vehicles, meanwhile, are those in front of Yorktown High School. On average, vehicles there continue to go just a hair below the speed limit, at 19.76 mph.
While the Virginia State Police report shows data on nine speed camera locations in Arlington, ACPD expanded the program last month to include eight additional school zones.
Fines collected through the speed cameras are transferred to the Arlington County Treasurer’s Office, ACPD spokesperson Ashley Savage told ARLnow.
“ACPD and the Department of Environmental Services will continue to actively review and assess the school zones to determine the safety impacts of the cameras and guide the development and future of the PhotoSPEED program,” she said.
