LEESBURG, Fla. – The city of Leesburg will begin alerting drivers after installing speed cameras in school zones.
The campaign is meant to educate drivers about the consequences of getting caught ignoring the speed limit signs at schools.
According to a public safety video by the Leesburg Police Department, the school zone enforcement program will be at eight schools across the city, including Beverly Shores Elementary.
Parent Ariel Ferrell drops off her son every morning at Beverly Shores Elementary School and is glad to see that speed cameras were installed.
“Yeah! Yeah! Definitely because you have so many kids going back and forth and they’re still learning how to cross the street themselves,” Ferrell said.
The program kicked off on Aug. 12, which was the first day of school.
According to Chief Joseph Iozzi, there is a 30-day warning period and after that citations will be issued to drivers who violate the school zone speed limit by more than 10 mph.
“Our ultimate goal is to get voluntary compliance. We don’t want to write tickets to anyone. We want people to just drive safely so that the kids are safe when coming to and from school,” Iozzi said.
City leaders said Leesburg has a problem with cars speeding in school zones.
According to the city, a recent speed test caught 2,844 cars speeding through Oak Park Middle School’s school zone in one day while reduced speed flashing lights were active.
Officials said 1,741 cars were caught speeding through Leesburg Elementary School in one day.
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