Due to public outcry about receiving School Zone Speed Camera citations during the school day, the Manatee County Board of Commissioners (BOCC) approved new enforcement hours for School Zone Speed Cameras across the county on February 4, 2025. The updated enforcement times will now focus on the active periods of student arrival and departure, rather than covering the entire school day. Enforcement will begin 30 minutes before and end 30 minutes after the start and end of regularly scheduled school sessions. These changes went into effect the following day, February 5, 2025.
It was surprising to see Commissioner Amanda Ballard appear unaware that speed cameras had been issuing tickets throughout the entire school day. Deputy County Administrator Courtney De Pol thoroughly addressed that question from Ballard almost a year earlier during the meeting to approve the cameras. Commissioners Ballard, Jason Bearden, Mike Rahn, and George Kruse all voted to approve the speed cameras issuing citations during the entire school day. Kruse says he didn’t vote in favor of it, but the record clearly shows he did.
Our initial coverage of the School Zone Speed Cameras was critical due to the lack of scientific and factual data provided by the County to justify the installation. There was no data or evidence specifically related to school zones. Instead, Deputy County Administrator Courtney De Pol presented slides featuring news articles on pedestrian accidents and speeding, rather than actual studies or relevant data. Did Sheriff Rick Wells or a representative from the Florida Highway Patrol address the meeting regarding school zone incidents and crashes? No. Were crash reports or statistical data from the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles shared during the meeting? No.
We later discovered that a study had been conducted, but it was not included in the February 13, 2024 public hearing where the School Zone Speed Cameras were approved. Shockingly, RedSpeed, the company responsible for the cameras, conducted the study itself. For the sake of transparency and fairness, best practices suggest that the study and the contract for installation should be handled by separate entities to avoid any potential conflicts of interest and ensure a fair and impartial process.
It turns out that comprehensive historical data on school speed zone violations is readily available. When a driver is issued a traffic citation, it includes a unique violation code to classify the offense. For unlawful speed in a school zone, the violation code is 586. This allows us to review past citations issued by police officers for school zone violations and assess the extent of the problem.
Unfortunately, violation code 586 is also used for exceeding the posted speed in a work zone, which complicates matters. Last year, we contacted the Manatee County Clerk of the Circuit Court for all Uniform Traffic Citations filed in 2023 for violation code 586. They provided a detailed spreadsheet showing 1,928 citations filed for that violation code. It would be relatively simple for the County to sort through these citations and distinguish between school zone and work zone violations. Even without differentiating between work and school zones, 1,928 citations in a year—during which Manatee County had an estimated population of 441,000—doesn’t seem to indicate a significant problem.
Meanwhile, RedSpeed’s dubious study claims that 25,104 drivers were speeding more than 10 mph over the limit in a single day across 56 school zones in Manatee County. If speed cameras were installed in those 56 zones, based on RedSpeed’s numbers, it could result in $2,510,400 in fines per day at $100 each. Over the course of an academic year, the County could collect nearly $2 billion, while RedSpeed could take home over $1.6 billion. For reference, the FY24-25 approved gross budget for Manatee County was $3.2 billion.
Another reason to question the study and the implementation of the cameras is that the top violation locations identified in the study never received speed cameras. The top four speed zones accounted for 7,127 violations out of the 25,104 reported, representing approximately 28% of all violations during the study. The justification for selecting which locations received cameras was neither explained nor discussed during the public hearing.
As evidence that School Zone Speed Cameras may not be the solution, consider the case of a 7-year-old boy who was struck by a car while boarding a school bus just a block from Daughtery Elementary in December 2024, despite the school having two speed cameras in place. Even the crossing guard blowing her whistle couldn’t get the driver to stop. Thankfully, the child was unharmed.
Investigating the Installation of School Zone Speed Cameras and Signs
We conducted an in-depth investigation, visiting eight active Speed Detection Systems across five schools in northern Manatee County. The findings were startling, as we discovered that all five schools had incorrect installations, and failed to comply with the Florida Department of Transportation SDS placement and installation specifications, as required by law. Below are the placement specifications we inspected.
An SDS shall be installed as close to the right-of-way line as possible and in compliance with the following criteria:
- For urban curb and gutter roadways with posted speed limit of 45 mph or less, placement shall be located no closer than 4 feet from the face of the curb.
- For all other roadways, placement shall be located no closer than 12 feet from the traveled way, unless placed behind an existing barrier with the appropriate setback distance.
- For all school zones where an SDS is to be installed, a ground-mounted Speed Limit Photo Enforced sign assembly as depicted in Attachment A shall be installed 100 feet prior to the furthest most upstream point of the existing S1-1 school zone warning sign. In cases where other signs exist within this area, engineering judgment should be applied to determine the appropriate location of the Speed Limit Photo Enforced sign assembly.
FDOT defines ‘traveled way’ as synonymous with a traffic lane according to their design manual. A traffic lane is the designated portion of a roadway intended to carry motorized traffic, exclusive of shoulders and bicycle lanes. Traffic lanes include travel lanes and auxiliary lanes.
All the speed camera locations we visited for this investigation are located on rural roadways without curbs and gutters, while other areas within the county may feature urban curb and gutter roadways.
Incorrect Installations We Found
Palm View K-8 School at 6025 Bayshore Rd, Palmetto – 2 Bad SDS, 1 Bad Sign
The Speed Detection Systems is located 7 feet 11 inches from the traffic lane. FDOT requires the SDS be positioned at least 12 feet from the traffic lane.
Speed Detection System (SDS) installed on 61st St E (Palm View Rd)
Speed Detection System (SDS) installed on Bayshore Rd
The Speed Detection Systems is located 11 feet 2 inches from the traffic lane. FDOT requires the SDS be positioned at least 12 feet from the traffic lane.
Speed Limit Photo Enforced sign installed on Bayshore Rd
The Speed Limit Photo Enforced sign is installed well beyond the FDOT requirement of 100 feet upstream from the furthest point of the existing S1-1 school zone warning sign. In the photo below, the S1-1 sign is much further in the background, circled in red.
James Tillman Elementary School at 1415 29th St E, Palmetto – 1 Bad SDS, 1 Bad Sign
Speed Detection System (SDS) installed on 16th Ave E
The Speed Detection Systems is located 8 feet 8 inches from the traffic lane. FDOT requires the SDS be positioned at least 12 feet from the traffic lane.
Speed Limit Photo Enforced sign installed on 16th Ave E
The Speed Limit Photo Enforced sign is incorrectly installed beyond the S1-1 school zone warning sign, when it should be placed 100 feet before the sign.
Blackburn Elementary School at 3904 17th St E, Palmetto – 1 Bad Sign
Speed Limit Photo Enforced sign installed on 17th St E (Memphis Rd)
The Speed Limit Photo Enforced sign is incorrectly installed beyond the S1-1 school zone warning sign, when it should be placed 100 feet before the sign.
Virgil Mills Elementary School at 7200 69th St E, Palmetto – 1 Bad SDS
Speed Detection System (SDS) installed on EB 69th St E
The Speed Detection System is located 8 feet 2 inches from the traffic lane. FDOT requires the SDS be positioned at least 12 feet from the traffic lane.
Annie Lucy Williams Elementary School at 3404 Fort Hamer Rd, Parrish – 1 Bad SDS, 1 Bad Sign
Speed Detection System (SDS) installed on Ft Hamer Rd
The Speed Detection System is located 6 feet 9 inches from the traffic lane. FDOT requires the SDS be positioned at least 12 feet from the traffic lane.
Speed Limit Photo Enforced sign installed on Ft Hamer Rd
The Speed Limit Photo Enforced sign is the wrong size. A 30″ H x 24″ W sign was installed, but according to FDOT requirements, the sign should measure 36″ H x 30″ W for a roadway with a 45 mph speed limit.
After discovering an incorrect SDS installation, we contacted Manatee County to inform them and asked whether they had verified the installations were done correctly. The County replied that “All systems are installed based on FDOT guidelines with the County approving the installation permits for all sites.”
It appears that neither RedSpeed nor Manatee County verified whether these installations met FDOT guidelines. Under the rushed, no-bid, piggyback agreement Manatee County signed with RedSpeed, the contract stipulates that a RedSpeed field engineer will visit each School Speed Zone Camera system once a month. These visits include inspecting and cleaning the cameras, as well as verifying that all required enforcement signs are properly installed. We can confirm that Manatee County conducted site visits—since electrical permits were pulled and on-site inspections of the electrical work was carried out—it would have been relatively simple for them to also verify the proper placement of the cameras and signage, given that they were already on-site for the electrical inspections.
Due to limited resources, we were only able to investigate SDS installations in north Manatee County. However, there are still many other SDS sites across the county, including those within city limits under different jurisdictions. Given that all five schools we investigated had issues, and 5 out of 8 SDS were installed incorrectly, there is a high likelihood that many of the remaining SDS installations are also problematic.
Upcoming BOCC Action on School Zone Speed Cameras
On the agenda for the March 4th, 2025 meeting, Commissioner Dr. Robert “Bob” McCann motions to refund all $100 School Speed Zone Camera citations issued between August 12th, 2024 to February 5th, 2025, including any convenience fees.
Based on our findings, Commissioner McCann’s proposal is a step in the right direction, but it falls short of addressing all the issues surrounding the School Zone Speed Cameras. We recommend that the Commissioners terminate the RedSpeed School Zone Speed Camera agreement, remove the cameras, and issue refunds to all individuals who received a citation. This seems to be another cash grab, similar to the red light camera program that ended in 2022.
You may submit public comment for the upcoming March 4th board meeting online here. Your comments should reference Commissioner McCann’s agenda item #52 titled “Refund of all $100 Civil Citations and any convenience fees from August 12, 2024 to February 5, 2025”. You may call your Commissioner by clicking here, or you may email your Commissioner by clicking here.
We contacted RedSpeed for comment on the SDS installations and to verify the amount they collect per paid citation, but have not yet received a response.
This is the first in-depth investigation we’ve brought to you, and we have more in the works. These investigations require significant time and resources to produce. Please let us know if you have any suggestions or tips for upcoming investigations. If you value the work we do, we would greatly appreciate your support through a donation.
How much does RedSpeed get per citation?
According to the rushed, no bid, piggyback agreement we reviewed, RedSpeed charges the County a 33% service fee ($33) for each paid violation. There’s also an additional 2% fee ($2) per violation for each License Plate Reader module. This means RedSpeed collects $35 from the County for each paid citation. Additionally, RedSpeed is authorized to collect up to $10 in electronic processing fees per violation, though these fees are paid by the violator, not the County. In total, RedSpeed can earn up to $45 per citation, while the violator may be charged up to $110.
Where does the $100 citation fee go?
- According to Florida statutes, the funds are distributed as follows:
- $3 is sent to the Florida Department of Revenue, directed into the Department of Law Enforcement Criminal Justice Standards and Training Trust Fund.
- $60 is retained by Manatee County and must be used to administer speed detection systems in school zones and support other public safety initiatives.
- $12 goes to the Manatee County School District where the violation occurred, specifically for school security, student transportation, or improving student walking safety. This amount must also be shared with charter schools in the district.
- $5 is retained by Manatee County for the School Crossing Guard Recruitment and Retention Program, as outlined in s. 316.1894.
- $20 is sent to the Florida Department of Revenue, deposited into the General Revenue Fund.
Does anyone else make money from this?
Yes, Manatee County pays the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office (MSO) $13,081.16 per month for traffic enforcement officers who review videos of potential infractions and issue citations for up to one hundred (100) school speed zone enforcement cameras. The County is also responsible for reimbursing MSO for any additional costs or expenses incurred in providing these services.
How insane is it that RedSpeed can’t bother installing the cameras/signs as specified by FDOT? Then manatee county goes out there for “inspections” and doesn’t even catch them installed wrong before they turn them on and start issuing tickets? How does this happen and nobody is held accountable? Sick!!