BRADENTON, Fla. — Manatee County commissioners voted to end the School Speed Zone Camera Program.
The cameras are no longer operational effective 12:01 a.m. on Thursday, March 6.
At a meeting on March 4, Commissioner Bob McCann made a motion to end the program.
"It's not serving its intended purpose. The public doesn't want it. The Sheriff doesn't think it's valuable and the school board doesn't see it as any more protection then already having the crossing guards there," said Commissioner McCann.
Commissioners voted 5-2 to end the program, with District 3 Commissioner Tal Siddique, and District 4 Commission Mike Rahn dissenting.
"God forbid a kid gets run over and we could have done something with data we had. I would just urge caution and not just kill this entirely," said Commissioner Tal Siddique during this week's meeting.
The program was approved by the BOCC in February 2024. It launched in August of the same year and was designed to improve school zone safety.
In 2023, Governor Ron DeSantis signed House Bill (HB) 657 into law. Florida law allows speed cameras in school zones to enforce speeding violations.
Drivers caught going more than 10 mph over the speed limit were fined $100.
In early February 2025, the Board adjusted the program's operational hours to be from 30 minutes before to 30 minutes after the start and end of regularly scheduled school sessions.
A total of 55,243 Notices of Violation have been issued by the vendor for the camera program, RedSpeed. So far, 22,292 drivers have paid the $100 fine. 4,051 violations are currently awaiting law enforcement review, with another 45 scheduled for a hearing March 26, 2025 with a Special Magistrate.
A spokesperson for the Manatee County Sheriff's Office said:
"Sheriff Wells never supported the county's plan to operate traffic cameras throughout the entire day. He believes that these cameras should only record speeding violations in school zones when the flashing lights are activated. It’s important to remember that this was a county-run project that we were asked to monitor. Moving forward, we will continue our established practices for traffic enforcement in school zones. Deputies will be stationed at various school zones, prepared to make traffic stops and issue citations as necessary."
All citations issued through March 5 remain valid.
The Bradenton Police Department said speed cameras within city limits remain active.
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