<\/p>\n
A vehicle drives by a speed camera looking out over West Grand Avenue in Oakland in January. Oakland issued more than 140,000 warnings to speeding drivers during a pilot period. Tickets will be issued starting Sunday, March 15.<\/p>\n
Jungho Kim\/For the S.F. Chronicle<\/p>\n
Drivers passing through Oakland recently may have gotten a warning in the mail: Slow down, or they may soon have to pay the price.<\/p>\n
During a five-week trial run, Oakland\u2019s new network of automated speed cameras issued 140,445 warnings to motorists caught traveling at least 10 mph above the speed limit, according to a city report released Friday examining the pilot program.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
The city installed 35 cameras<\/a> at 18 locations across Oakland in January, targeting corridors that see higher levels of severe and fatal collisions. The new speed camera program is the result of a 2023 state law<\/a> that authorized six cities to conduct five-year pilots of the automated camera systems. San Francisco installed 33 cameras and began issuing tickets in August.<\/p>\n The new cameras also come at a time where cities are struggling to recruit new police officers who might usually catch speedsters.<\/p>\n San Francisco Chronicle Logo<\/p>\n Make us a Preferred Source to get more of our news when you search.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Add Preferred Source<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n In the past two months, drivers caught speeding by the cameras have received only warnings. But beginning March 15, the cameras will issue tickets.<\/p>\n Citywide, about 1.5% of vehicles passing the cameras triggered warnings\u00a0\u2014 a small share of drivers that nonetheless accounts for tens of thousands of speeding incidents.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n It\u2019s a number that frustrates Oakland Transportation Director Josh Rowan, who said the data underscores how a relatively small group of drivers can create an outsize safety problem.<\/p>\n \u201cMany cities \u2014 not just Oakland \u2014 spend a lot of money trying to combat speeding, whether it\u2019s through infrastructure changes or repairing the damage,\u201d Rowan said in an interview. \u201cWe\u2019re doing all of that for just 1.5% of drivers.\u201d<\/p>\n In Oakland, an average of two people are killed or seriously injured by traffic violence each week, according to city statistics. Just 8% of streets\u00a0account for about 60%<\/a> of severe and fatal collisions.<\/p>\n The site that saw the highest number of speeders was at 73rd Avenue between Fresno and Krause avenues in East Oakland, just north of International Boulevard. It\u2019s a stretch many drivers use as a shortcut between Interstates 580 and 880.<\/p>\n \u201cWe just have a lot of long, straight streets that are really favorable to speeding,\u201d Rowan said.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Some of the other top corridors were Broadway, between 27th and 28th streets, and\u00a0Hegenberger Road between Spencer and Hawley, just north of the Coliseum BART Station.\u00a0<\/p>\n While the cameras will soon start issuing fines, Rowan said enforcement is only one part of Oakland\u2019s safety strategy. The city also wants to use traffic calming\u00a0\u2014 a redesign of streets so drivers instinctively slow down. That can mean adding speed bumps, narrowing lanes, installing medians or introducing curves that discourage drivers from accelerating.<\/p>\n At nearly every camera location, the typical speeding driver was traveling 11 to 15 mph over the limit, the report found. One location stood out: Foothill Boulevard between 19th and 20th avenues near San Antonio Park, where the average speeding driver was clocked at 19 mph above the limit.<\/p>\n The data also showed that most drivers\u00a0\u2014\u00a064%\u00a0\u2014\u00a0only triggered a warning once. But a smaller group of repeat offenders accounted for nearly two-thirds of all violations during the pilot period. About 30% of warned drivers were caught two to five times, and 4% received six to 10 warnings.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n A handful of drivers pushed the numbers even further: 11 motorists racked up more than 30 warnings each during the five-week pilot.<\/p>\n \u201cWho are those 11 people, and why are they driving?\u201d Rowan said.<\/p>\n Beginning\u00a0Sunday, speeding drivers will start to see citations arrive by mail \u2014 starting at $50 for drivers going 11 to 15 mph over the limit, and as much as $500 for excessive speeds. Low-income drivers will be charged\u00a0reduced fines<\/a>.<\/p>\n