Speed Cameras on way to approval for county school zones
News October 20, 2021
ELLIJAY, Ga. – Citizens are still questioning personal information and privacy rights with the Gilmer Sheriff’s Office’s plans to install speed detection cameras in school zones in the area of Yukon/Clear Creek roads by the schools and on Highway 282 near the county Library and Mountain View Elementary.
During the Public Hearing for the County, Sheriff’s Office Major Michael Gobble spoke to citizens answering questions about the implementation.
Maj. Gobble said that the camera will not capture information from every car that drives through the zone. Not only will they only be active twice a day at the beginning and the end of each school day, but they will only capture information when triggered by a speeding violation.
The cameras will be using radar technology instead of laser and Maj. Gobble noted that the calibrations and maintenance will be upheld by the company and not the Sheriff’s Office. However, all violations and information has to pass through an officer at the Sheriff’s Office to be confirmed and double checked before any citation can be sent.
As explained, the process will follow that as a driver is speeding through the zone, a picture of the license plate is captured and sent to the Sheriff’s Office. It is then verified and sent back to the monitor company who will then mail out a civil citation. Maj. Gobble explained that as a civil citation it will not register on people’s driving history.
The signs in the area with the speed zone will have that active times posted on the signs.
While the information is in the care of the company and the Sheriff”s Office, Maj. Gobble said that both entities are under government oversight for the information and are subject to the laws governing that information. It is protected under GCIC and the same rules are applied to a company handling this information.
Maj. Gobble explained it as the same process for stoplight cameras in some cities. It is not to be sold or kept in storage for any major length of time. The information is only kept long enough for law enforcement to verify and the citation to be resolved. He noted that if a citizen wishes to bring the citation to court, then it will be kept long enough for the court case.
The Commissioners did approve the first reader of the Speed Detection Device Ordinance this month and will revisit for the final reader next month. With final approval on that reader citizens could be seeing these devices in use by the end of November.
Speed Cameras coming to local School Zones
News July 27, 2021
EAST ELLIJAY, Ga. – “It is an enforcement issue,” said Gilmer County Sheriff Stacy Nicholson as he spoke about school traffic zones and the reduced speed during school hours.
Sheriff Nicholson offered a report to the Gilmer Board of Education during their July meeting concerning a problem with speeding in school zones and what the office is preparing to implement in response to it.
Gilmer County Sheriff Stacy Nicholson
School zones require a reduction in speed from drivers twice a day to help with the beginning of the day when students are coming in to school and the end of day when school lets out. According to Nicholson, these roughly one hour windows in the morning and afternoon are the times that the speed limits drop and complaints begin. He noted that the office expects people to become informed about the cameras and for the issue to mostly resolve before they even implement the devices.
To help with enforcement, the Sheriff has contracted with a company to put up speed cameras to capture speeders in the zone and issue tickets electronically. Not a new concept, many cities utilize camera on traffic lights in a similar fashion to issue fines against those running red lights.
Nicholson said that while it doesn’t directly affect the school system’s operation, he wanted to take the time to inform them and also to spread the word about the coming change. Nicholson asserted several times that he wants to focus on informing the public and letting them know in advance about the cameras and not to blindside them or catch them off guard.
Nicholson said that he constantly receives complaints about speeds during the school year. There are three locations that will utilize the cameras including; Mountainview Elementary School on Highway 282, Clear Creek Middle School on Clear Creek Road, and Clear Creek Elementary School on Yukon Road.
Utilizing both traffic cameras and radar, the devices will operate more as a deterrent than a ticket device as Nicholson said his hopes were to aid in the enforcement issues.
The scenario will play out as someone speeds through the area, the captured infractions are sent to a local appointed officer, which Nicholson said will likely be a SRO (School Resource Officer). That officer reviews the infractions and makes sure there are no mistakes, then the company will send out tickets to those the officer approves.
One important note, Nicholson said that these are civil fines, not traffic tickets. One of the major differences Nicholson noted, is that not paying the civil fine will not automatically send a person to jail, but “it will go to court.”
The Sheriff’s Office does have more details to work out. As Nicholson said, he wants to give ample time to the public to find out and know about the radar cameras before implementation. That said, these devices could be seen in use as early as September or October in Gilmer County.
Secured to poles, these devices will be set inside the zones that the county has marked and signed as a reduction in speed.
Board Chairman Ronald Watkins mentioned adding other devices to the areas such as flashing lights as seen in some other counties where they have flashing yellow lights posted on school zone signs during the hours of reduced speed. Nicholson said that the County has the responsibility on changing signage and using that type of signage. However, Nicholson did say that he has looked into another suggestion from Watkins with the trailers with a strobe highlighting a driver’s current speed.
All of this comes in support of Nicholson’s push to, as he said, warn and inform Gilmer’s citizens over and over again about the devices before they even get implemented.