The first of 33 speed cameras, which will issue citations to drivers exceeding posted speed limits, debuts in the Richmond District this morning.
San Francisco broke a decades-long pedestrian death record last year with more than 20 people killed by vehicles. (Moreover, the vast majority of those deaths highlighted a growing trend that shows elderly pedestrians are more likely to die from vehicle collisions than younger individuals.)
Good news, however, has recently manifested to safeguard people from passing cars. A slew of new bike lanes has been installed, the Upper Great Highway along Ocean Beach will officially become a permanent car-free corridor, and at least 33 automated speed cameras, which transportation technologies company Verra Mobility will operate, have been installed across San Francisco.
It’s the latter bit of news that pedestrian safety advocates are rejoicing — if for no other reason than it’s been a long time coming. Years of lobbying in the Capital culminated in the passing of Assembly Bill 645, which was signed into law on October 13, 2023. By allowing San Francisco — Los Angeles, San Jose, Oakland, Glendale, and Long Beach — to pilot the use of speed cameras, California was set on a course to become a poster child for pedestrian safety measures set in the technological era.
San Francisco finally welcomes that era today, with the city’s first speed camera debuting at the intersection of Geary Boulevard and 7th Avenue. This camera, along with the 32 others to open across SF, comes at a time when vehicles are seemingly getting bigger and faster.
“The automobile industry continues to design vehicles that are dramatically faster than in previous generations,” reads a release from the nonprofit Walk San Francisco, celebrating the installation of today’s speed camera. “According to the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2022 Automotive Trends Report, the average American vehicle from model year 2021 could reach 60 mph in 7.7 seconds. This is about twice as fast as cars purchased in the early 1980s. Electric vehicles are even faster than the average American vehicle, with many reaching 60 MPH in only a few seconds.”
(Recent deaths that involved electric vehicles speeding highlight this industry trend of bigger and faster, but not necessarily better; GMC’s newest all-electric iteration of its iconic Hummer vehicle weights nearly three times as much as the average sedan … and can hit speeds of over 60mph in less than four seconds.)
Billboards across San Francisco have alerted drivers of the imminent arrival of these speed cameras for months; signs, where speed cameras are installed, will alert drivers they’re passing through an area where they’re installed. As for the citations themselves, speeding drivers can expect fines anywhere from $50 to $500, depending on how fast they traveled over the posted speed limit. Verra Mobility uses license plate details to fine and bill the registered driver (— bad news if you frequently allow a friend or family member with a led foot to drive your car). These citations issued by the transportation technology company differ slightly from tickets given by City police in how they can be appealed, their legal implications, and further ramifications.
May today, February 19th, 2025 be a day remembered that San Francisco put a foot in the right direction.
