San Francisco speed cameras are slowing drivers down, SFMTA reports

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- San Francisco's new speed cameras appear to be having an immediate effect on driver behavior, according to early findings from the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency.

SFMTA released new data on Friday showing a 78% drop in speeding at intersections where new speed cameras were installed last year.

Viktoriya Wise, SFMTA's Director of Streets, says the early results show the program is working as intended.

"They are working. And it demonstrates that the program is having its intended effect of slowing people down," Wise said.

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Between September and December, SFMTA issued nearly 500,000 warnings and more than 93,000 citations. Drivers receive a warning for their first offense.

Wise says the goal isn't to issue more tickets.

"The whole goal is to actually issue fewer tickets over time, which is what the data is showing," she said.

Despite the early progress, SFMTA says some areas remain stubborn trouble spots.

When asked where speeding is still most prominent, Wise pointed to stretches near freeway onramps.

MORE: Where SF speed cameras are located, how much it will cost you if you're caught speeding

"People are coming off the freeway or headed to the freeway at speed," she said. "But nevertheless, these are city streets. Pedestrians are crossing there all the time, and we're asking folks to slow down at those locations."

The agency also reports a 27% decrease in drivers going more than 21 miles per hour over the speed limit, a category of speeding that correlates most strongly with severe injuries and traffic deaths.

"Speeding is the number one cause of severe injuries and fatalities in our city, which is a public health crisis," Wise said.

As with many automated enforcement programs, critics have questioned whether the system is more about generating revenue than improving safety. Wise rejects that idea.

"This program is really intended to change people's behavior, not to make revenue for SFMTA," she said. "Whatever money we collect from the tickets actually goes to fund the program first and foremost, but the remaining money goes for traffic calming in the city - like speed humps in our residential neighborhoods. I want everybody that's using our streets to feel safe."

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