RICHMOND, Va. β John Sarvay has spent 12 years navigating busy streets to get his children to and from Richmond Public Schools. As he picks up his fifth grader after the fourth day of school, he's frustrated that speeding remains a persistent problem despite new enforcement measures.
"We've got 12 years of crossing this busy street," Sarvay said. "Even with the crosswalk and the sign that says stop for state law and the camera, we still have people rolling through at high speeds, not stopping for pedestrians."
While Sarvay admits the cameras are a step in the right direction, he questions their effectiveness in changing driver behavior.
"I think people just sort of go into autopilot when they drive. A lot of people just really not paying attention β they're focused on where they're going, they're focused on their radio, they're focused on their phone, whatever it is," he said.
The numbers show speed enforcement cameras have become increasingly popular across Virginia. Richmond has captured more than 56,400 violations with speed cameras at participating schools this year β more than double the total violations from 2024. Those citations have generated nearly $2.5 million in fines.
Chesterfield County has also seen significant enforcement activity. Since the first speed cameras became active in February, the county has mailed out nearly 8,900 violations through July 31. Over 5,400 of those fines have been paid, totaling $543,000.
New Kent County has implemented similar enforcement in work zones on Interstate 64. Since Aug. 12, the county has captured 1,647 violations, potentially bringing in more than $160,000 in fines.
Statewide, Virginia State Police report nearly $34 million in fines from speeding violations in school and work zones.
However, Sarvay believes more immediate consequences are necessary to truly change driver behavior.
"The fines are sort of this retroactive thing, so I speed through the intersection and 30 days later I get a ticket," he said. "It's not something that causes me to stop doing the wrong thing when I've been doing it. If you speed, you should get stopped and you should get ticketed."
Both Chesterfield and Richmond police departments say money generated from speed camera fines will fund programs and initiatives to increase departmental efficiency.
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