The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in Virginia approved a speed camera pilot program.
The new six-month program will allow police to place speed cameras in school and work zones.
A total of 10 cameras will be put up. The program will cost $200,000, and if successful, it will be extended.
“There’s one reason why we’re doing this and that is to save lives,” Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeffrey McKay said.
A recent study from the pilot program’s work group found that in five school zones surveyed, hundreds of drivers exceeded the posted speed limit by more than 10 miles per hour.
“The program will be successful not because we collected revenue, the program will be successful because people will change their driving habits,” McKay said.
Fines will range from $50 to $100; county leaders expect to have the program up and running by Feb. 1.
“I know we’re going to learn a lot from this program,” Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn said. “I’m very happy this is moving forward.”
The speed camera pilot program is among the recent road safety measures the board of supervisors have supported this year. In August, additional signs aimed at preventing speeding were proposed in the area where two students were killed in a crash.
