A whopping 1,109 BHS speeding zone tickets mailed out in first 2-and-a-half weeks

If you haven't already started slowing down when driving along Ga. 49 by Baldwin High, now would be an excellent time.

A total of 1,109 speeding tickets were mailed out between Dec. 1 and Jan. 5, according to the Milledgeville Police Department's database. Based on the fact that December was an abbreviated school month, and the Redspeed cameras were not active between Dec. 17 and Jan. 4, that averages out to roughly 85 speeding tickets per school day. 

Some motorists have been clocked going 70-plus miles per hour. Effective Jan. 1, repeat offenders will be mailed out a $125 ticket, as opposed to a $75 ticket, which is the price of a first offense. 

Baldwin County School District returned to school this morning, when the RedSpeed cameras once again went live. Passing vehicles 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

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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.

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