To the surprise of many, the school zone speed camera program, faced with defunding in both Nassau and Suffolk Counties, has recently been cut. Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone announced a plan to end the controversial speed camera program last week, and Nassau legislators voted unanimously to eliminate them in a 19-1 vote on Monday.
“I think that it’s [eliminating the cameras] totally fair. So many people were being charged money for stupid reasons,” junior Evelyn Sokolowski said.
Such speed cameras were installed at Unqua Elementary School over the summer; Unqua’s speed camera, however, was not activated until September 3. Cameras had yet to be installed in front of MHS, despite two signs warning that the speed limit “[is] enforced by photo/video.”
Many people felt the program was flawed at the start.
The camera, large in size and hanging from a pole in front of the school, is hard to ignore, yet many have been ticketed for speeding on that tiny section of Unqua Road. The camera was a source of debate when it, along with other Nassau cameras, issued speeding tickets before the announced activation date. As a result, the county invalidated $2 million worth of speeding tickets.
Adding to the confusion regarding the speed cameras, the details as given by the signs were vague. The westbound sign says that this is only in effect during school hours (7 a.m. to 6 p.m.), like the camera at Unqua Elementary School, while the eastbound sign says that it operates when the lights above the speed limit sign are flashing. However, the lights do not stop flashing with the school hours.
everyone else. Don’t fix a system that isn’t broken.”
Despite these claims, though, a 2010 study from Australia’s University of Queensland “It’s not realistic to go 20 miles per hour on Merrick, and all that [does is] cause a big traffic jam,” senior Cara Duffy said. “It’s not unsafe to cross the street if you wait at the crosslight like found that speed cameras did, in fact, reduce crashes in monitored areas by eight to 49 percent, and that fatal crashes decreased by 11 to 44 percent.
A controlled experiment conducted by the Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine, meanwhile, found that the number of collisions neither increased nor decreased, and that the results are difficult to measure due to the numerous variables that can affect this number.
Regardless of the speed cameras facing the chopping block, the issue of student safety around busy roads and intersections remains an important issue for school administrators to address. Without the backing of speed cameras from the county, Massapequa will have to look elsewhere to ensure the safety of its pupils.
“We encourage drivers to continue to exercise caution when passing all our schools, including the high school where students enjoy an open campus format,” superintendent Mrs. Lucille Iconis said. “Safety is paramount and we partner with the Nassau County police department and our security force to provide a safe environment for our students.”