ROANOKE, Va. – Drivers blasting past schools and racing through construction. Signs and flashing lights aren’t slowing you down, but now something is.
More than 300,000 drivers were caught in school zones and work zones going 10 miles or more over the speed limit. If you get caught, it is $100 a pop. Across the Commonwealth, drivers paid nearly $20 million last year.
[RELATED: How police are using cameras in school zones to catch speeders]
A recently passed law in Virginia allows cameras to help police school zones and highway work zones, freeing up officers for other duties.
WSLS 10 is breaking down where it’s happening. A total of thirteen agencies in Virginia used speed cameras last year, according to data from state police.
Here’s a breakdown of the cameras in our area:
- The Wythe County Sheriff’s Office uses them in school zones. 3,544 citations were mailed and 2,506 were paid, bringing in $250,600. Cameras are in school zones at Jackson Elementary, Fort Chiswell High School, Rural Retreat Elementary, and Sheffey Elementary.
- Altavista Police also use speed cameras in front of the elementary school and combined middle and high school. 945 of the 1656 citations issued were paid. Those brought in about $100,000.
Chesapeake Police had the most citations in school zones last year at 70,656, bringing in about $5.5 million.
The only work zone cameras last year were in Suffolk and Harrisonburg. Those cameras brought in $8 million.
VDOT and state police have talked about adding cameras on Interstate 81, where they’re doing construction, but that hasn’t happened yet.
Blacksburg and Montgomery County are both looking to add the technology in school zones.
You can see the in-depth story on the Altavista cameras in this 10 News Solutionaries story.
Below is data on citations issued across the Commonwealth in 2023.