New Data Shows 90% Less Speeding In Speed Camera School Zones

Wednesday, October 22nd, 2025

New data suggests that school zone speed cameras have made a big impact to slow down drivers in the school zones near Dalton High School and Roan Street School. A recent speed study showed a 90 percent reduction in the number of vehicles traveling more than 10 miles an hour faster than the school zone speed limits in those areas compared to a similar study conducted before the cameras were installed. Dalton Police Chief Cliff Cason presented the data to the Public Safety Commission at its monthly meeting on Tuesday. 

"We can say with confidence now that the results of having this speed enforcement has significantly reduced the number of speeders that are going 10 or more miles an hour above the posted speed limit during the school day," Chief Cason said. "That's the goal, to get speeds closer to what the speed limit is, because the number of fatal injuries in crashes goes down dramatically if you can get speeds lower." 

Caption: A school zone speed limit sign near Dalton High School is equipped with flashing lights warn motorists when lower speed limits are in effect 

A speed study conducted in the Dalton High and Roan Street School zones in August 2023 recorded 7,779 speed violations in a 5-day period. Two pairs of speed enforcement cameras were installed in the two school zones last spring. They began operating with a 30-day warning period on March 24th and then live citations began on April 29th. There were just 19 school days left when citations began, but early data collected before the end of the school year showed a reduction in speeding in the two zones. There were 4,847 citations issued in those 19 days, which works out to approximately 1,275 violations in a 5-day period. 

Blue Line Solutions, which operates the speed cameras in Dalton, conducted a new speed study once the 2025-26 school year began and enforcement resumed. The new data shows an even greater reduction in speeding violations. There were just 735 speeding violations in the 5-day study period this fall, a 90.5% reduction compared to the initial study. In the Dalton High School zone, there were just 478 violations detected along Waugh Street compared to 5,463 violations detected in the initial study. Along Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard in the Roan Street School zone there were just 257 violations detected compared to 2,316 violations detected in the initial study period. 

"I'd anticipated that we would see a reduction the total number of vehicles traveling through these corridors," Chief Cason told the PSC on Tuesday. "But when we did the initial study, there were around 12,000 vehicles during the 8-hour school day and post-implementation we are still seeing around 12,000 vehicles. So, it really is not diverting a lot of traffic anywhere else. People are still using these roads, but they're going closer to what the intended speed limit is during the time that school is in session." 

The speed cameras only operate during the periods when the school zone speed limits in each area are in effect on days when the schools are in session. At Dalton High School, they operate from 6:31 am-7:30 am and from 2:16 pm-3:15 pm. In the Roan Street School zone, they operate from 7:31 am-8:30 am and from 3:26 pm-4:25 pm. But the data from the most recent speed study shows that speeding rates have been reduced throughout the 8-hour school day, even when normal speed limits are in effect and the cameras are not issuing citations. 

The school zone speed limit in both zones is 30 miles per hour. Citations are issued to motorists driving at 10+ miles per hour over the limit. 

"It's making a safer corridor for both parents dropping their kids off at school as well as for kids that are walking from home," Chief Cason said. "I think we're showing some positive trends on that and we're hoping that we'll continue to trend that way." 

Statistics provided by AAA show that a child struck by a vehicle traveling 40 MPH only has a one in 10 chance of survival. However, if the vehicle is traveling at 20 MPH, research suggests that same child has a nine in 10 chance of survival. Speeding is also a primary contributing factor in motor vehicle crashes resulting in personal injury and deaths. 

Motorists that exceed the posted school zone speed limit at 10+ MPH near Dalton High or Roan Street School will receive a citation in the mail.  These citations are civil in nature and carry a $100 fee for the first offense ($75 fine plus a $25 processing charge), but do not come with points against a driver's license or insurance penalties. The second and subsequent violations carry a $150 fee ($125 fine plus a $25 processing) but similarly do not incur points on a driver's license or insurance penalties. Each violation detected by the camera system is reviewed by an officer from the Dalton Police Department's Traffic Enforcement Unit (TEU) before a citation is issued. 

The Dalton High and Roan Street School zones are clearly marked with posted speed limit signs as well as signs advising motorists that speed limits are enforced with cameras. The school zones also have flashing lights and additional digital road signs that capture a vehicle’s speed and give advance warning to the driver of the upcoming school zone.

For more information on the school zone speed cameras, visit daltonga.gov/schoolzone.