BHS Redspeed cameras switching over to "enforcement mode"

Beginning tomorrow (Dec. 1), speeders along Ga. 49 in front of Baldwin High won't be getting any more "friendly" mail.

Redspeed, the company that oversees the speeding cameras and safety initiative, tomorrow will begin mailing out $75 citations to speeders. Up until now, speeders in front of Baldwin High were mailed a "warning letter."

If recent history repeats itself, there will be quite a few hurt feelings. For example, a total of 434 Redspeed speeding tickets were mailed out during the first 50 days of the initiative along Elbert Street in front of Georgia Military College earlier this year, adding up to more than $30,000 worth.

Ga. 49, of course, is a much busier road than South Elbert Street and has a much higher daily traffic count, meaning that the number of speeding tickets in front of Baldwin High should dwarf the number in front of GMC.

Cars only will be clocked by the cameras each school day between 7:15 a.m. and 4:15 p.m., Here's the Redspeed schedule:

• 7:15 a.m. to 7:29 a.m. – posted speed limit is 45 mph // trigger speed limit is 56 mph
• 7:30 a.m. to 8:29 a.m. – posted speed limit is 30 mph // trigger speed limit is 41 mph
• 8:30 a.m. to 2:44 p.m. – posted speed limit is 45 mph // trigger speed limit is 56 mph
• 2:45 p.m. to 3:44 p.m. – posted speed limit is 30 mph // trigger speed limit is 41 mph
• 3:45 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. – posted speed limit is 45 mph // trigger speed limit is 56 mph

The Redspeed cameras will shut down between Dec. 17 and Jan. 4, which is the Christmas break in the Baldwin County School District. Enforcement then will resume each school day beginning Jan. 5.

Please consider supporting this journalism initiative and supporting local news for the community with no paywalls ever. Just click HERE.

The first citation, for any motorist traveling more than 10 miles per hour over the post school zone speed limit, is $75, with each additional citation $125.

For those who may not be completely familiar with the program, here is some more information in a nifty question-and-answer form:

• QUESTION: What does the MPD get out of it?
• ANSWER: The revenue split is 65 percent for the MPD and 35 percent for RedSpeed, the company that’s partnering with the city and handling all of the equipment and operations. The revenue for the MPD “can only be spend on new police equipment or for school safety programs,” said Milledgeville Police Department Chief Dray Swicord. This, theoretically, would include school assemblies focusing on driving safety and other brochures and literature.
• QUESTION: Will a citation impact my driver’s license?
• ANSWER: The RedSpeed citations will not cause drivers “to lose points on their licenses,” according to Milledgeville Police Chief Dray Swicord. “It’s simply a civil summons against the owner of the vehicle,” he added
• QUESTION: So, why pay the ticket if it doesn't take points off of my license?
• ANSWER: Although drivers and vehicle owners will not lose their licenses for refusing to pay any RedSpeed tickets, they won’t be able to renew their vehicle tags at the Tax Commissioner’s Office, Swicord said.
• QUESTION: What if someone else was driving my car?
• ANSWER: The speeding citation/summons will be issued against the owner of the vehicle caught on camera and not the actual driver. So, if a family member or someone else was borrowing your car and was caught speeding on camera, “that’s up for the vehicle owner and whoever else was involved to figure out how to pay,” said Swicord.