EUSTIS, Fla. – After the Eustis Police Department became the first law enforcement agency in Florida to install and then activate school-zone speed cameras, the number of drivers detected speeding 11 mph over the posted speed limit (20 mph during drop-off and pick-up and 40 mph the rest of the time) steadily increased – exactly opposite of what Chief Craig Capri expected.
The cameras in front of Eustis Elementary School were turned on in April and allowed for a month-long warning period. Capri said 800 warnings were issued.
In May, violators began receiving $100 tickets with 1,300 tickets being mailed out.
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Why the increase? Chief Capri suspected at the time many drivers hadn’t received the tickets or didn’t recognize the violation in their mailbox. In other words, it hadn’t hit them in the wallet.
How about now, four months later, with school and the school zone back in session?
Capri said the cameras are getting results.
Chief Capri stood on the sidewalk in front of Eustis Elementary with News 6 Anchor Erik von Ancken on a Wednesday morning.
“I’m seeing nobody really speeding yet,” Capri said. “Everybody seems to be going pretty good right now. I’m very proud of this, I think the word is getting out.”
Capri said he regularly monitors the traffic in front of the elementary school and has seen a slowdown.
“I believe so, I believe so, I come out here every day and I watch the intersections for a while and people seem to be slowing down,” Capri said. “I have a feeling it’s plateauing now, you’re going to see a decrease I’m sure. $100 is a big hit for anybody.”
Capri also noticed a side effect of the speed camera tickets.
“So after 30 days if you don’t pay the citation, it triggers an alert for us and then we have an officer come in and write an actual state citation with points on your license,” Capri said. “$166 plus three points on your license. And then you’re looking at if you don’t pay that in 30 days your license gets suspended. So if you’re oblivious to that and don’t pay attention, next thing you know you’re looking at $500 or $600 to get your license back and pay the ticket.”
Capri said he’s seen several instances where speed camera tickets have led to license suspensions.
“Every citation, every ticket is viewed by a human being so any discrepancy, any kind of issue, we immediately void the ticket out,” Capri said. “With that being said you have a chance to contest that. If you feel you were done wrong there’s options on there to appeal that but you got to follow up on it, you can’t just put the ticket down and say whatever.”
Despite the side effect, Capri said he is proud to be the first chief in Florida to implement school zone speed cameras after Gov. DeSantis approved them last year.
“I don’t regret it because what we’re doing out here is saving lives,” Capri said. “And I’ll never regret that.”
Capri has installed additional speed cameras in front of both Eustis High School centers and he’s working to bring them to Eustis Heights Elementary.
The cameras cost the department nothing. The camera installer and operator takes a significant portion of the revenue and the remaining cash generated from the tickets, according to Capri, goes toward pedestrian safety, like hiring additional crossing guards.
To read more of Erik von Ancken’s series on Protecting Our Community, click here.
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