Titusville’s new school zone speed cameras have been working overtime. In the first 60 days of the city’s automated school-zone camera program, more than 16,000 speeding citations were recorded, police told the City Council on Tuesday, and $100 civil notices are now being mailed to registered vehicle owners. Officials say the setup is aimed squarely at slowing drivers during school arrival and dismissal times and is only switched on when school is in session.
In the update to council, the Titusville Police Department shared the eye-popping number and Major Jeremy Gonzalez underscored that the city is not changing the basic rules of the road. “The law has not changed - it’s always been illegal to speed,” he said, according to WKMG/ClickOrlando. Before tickets started going out, the department ran a 60-day warning period, and about 13,000 warnings were issued during that trial run, Spectrum News 13 reported.
How the Cameras Work
The city partnered with vendor Altumint and installed camera systems at six Phase 1 school zones. The devices flag vehicles going 11 miles per hour or more over the posted school-zone limit and capture images of the rear of the vehicle. A Titusville police officer reviews each flagged incident before any notice is mailed, according to the City of Titusville.
The city lists the Phase 1 locations as Apollo Elementary, Coquina Elementary, Andrew Jackson Middle, St. Theresa Catholic School, Park Avenue Christian Academy and Titusville High.
Price Tag and Where the Money Goes
Police told council the camera program costs about $3,500 per month to operate and that ticket revenue is intended to help cover that vendor fee, according to WKMG/ClickOrlando.
Local reporting details how proceeds are carved up under state law. Roughly $60 from each $100 notice stays with the city for public-safety uses and $12 goes to the school district, with the remainder split among state funds and a crossing-guard program, according to Talk of Titusville.
Legal Notes
The school-zone camera initiative was authorized at the state level by Florida’s House Bill 657 and then approved locally by the Titusville City Council, the city’s materials state. The notice is treated as a $100 civil penalty, not a moving-violation point on a driver’s license, according to the City of Titusville.
Vehicle owners who receive a notice can contest it, request a hearing or file an affidavit if they were not driving the vehicle at the time of the alleged violation, Spectrum News 13 reported.
What Comes Next
Officials say the endgame is not racking up fines but changing driver behavior and cutting speeding around schools. Early rollout data showed big drops in vehicle speed at some locations, according to local reporting.
The cameras are only active during school hours, including 30 minutes before and after classes, so drivers are not being clocked around the clock. The police department says it will review disputed notices and keep an eye on how the numbers trend as the system moves into full, ongoing enforcement, WESH and Talk of Titusville reported.
