Increasing safety on local roads is the focus of a new initiative.
An Automated Traffic Enforcement Pilot Program launches at a few Prince William County school zones next month.
The program will start at these sites, according to a release from the Communications Office:
- Battlefield High School – Route 15 in Haymarket
- Woodbridge Senior High School and Old Bridge Elementary School – Old Bridge Road in Lake Ridge
- Fannie W Fitzgerald Elementary School – Benita Fitzgerald Drive in Dale City
- Patriot High School and T. Clay Wood Elementary School – Kettle Run Road in Nokesville
The county is planning to add more school zones in the upcoming months. Message boards that alert drivers about school zones changes will be set up a week or further in advance.
Drivers who speed in an active school zone will be given a warning during the first 30 days that the automated traffic enforcement is in place.
Following the warning period, a $100 fine will be issued to those traveling too fast in these areas. Demerit points, driving records, and insurance won’t be effected.
Warnings and tickets will be mailed to the owner of the registered vehicle. The speed the vehicle was traveling, the date and time the incident occurred, and a photo of the back of the automobile are a part of the citation.
“State code prohibits us from recording any personal identifying information,” Prince William County Department of Transportation Traffic Safety Engineering Manager Richard Weinmann said in a release. “So, all the images are taken from the rear so we can’t see who was driving the vehicle. All we can see is that a vehicle with this license plate went through this school zone at this speed.”
Owners who weren’t driving the vehicle may reassign the ticket to someone else. It may be challenged in court, as well. Details about citation payment and disputing them will also be mailed to the owner.
The Automated Traffic Enforcement Pilot Program was approved by the Board of County Supervisors (BOCS) last year. In addition to active school zones, the initiative will target highway work zones and red lights, where cameras are expected to be added later in 2024.
Officials picked the school zones – which have different schools and kinds of roads – to determine how effective and beneficial the automated enforcement is.
“We have before data, and we will collect data afterwards to compare and see if speed has decreased in these school zones,” Weinmann said.
