Miami-Dade school zone cameras issued more than 236,000 tickets in less than a year
Miami Herald | By
Miami-Dade has issued 236,573 tickets to drivers caught on school zone cameras driving over the speed limit since the program began in November 2024.
At $100 per violation, that’s more than $23 million in revenue potentially generated by the program in unincorporated Miami-Dade.
“Please understand that every day, that number changes as vehicles continue to speed through our school zones,” RedSpeed Florida spokesperson David De La Espriella told the Herald.
RedSpeed is the company Miami-Dade County hired to run school zone cameras with a six-year deal that projects $144 million for the county, and $71 million for the vendor. RedSpeed USA, an Illinois traffic-camera vendor, supplies and operates speed, red-light, and school-bus “stop-arm” systems and handles ticket processing.
Miami-Dade is phasing cameras into more than 200 school zones in unincorporated areas. So far, the county has installed the system at 11 different campuses, however other municipalities operate their own school zone camera programs.
For example, Miami Springs, a three-square-mile city just north of Miami International Airport, has opted in and installed five school-zone speed cameras. Between Aug. 14 and Aug. 26, Miami Springs’ five school-zone cameras issued 420 Notices of Violation (NOVs), totaling $42,000, according to police spokesman Officer Jorge Capote. The city’s new budget includes a line item for school zone fines projected at $113,085, showing the program is already generating citations.
When tickets are issued
Florida school zone cameras can ticket drivers even when the flashing beacons aren’t on, as long as the required signs list the enforcement times.
State law authorizes automated enforcement 30 minutes before and after the start of school. This includes breakfast programs and 30 minutes after dismissal, but only for speeds more than 10 mph over the posted speed limit. Elementary, middle and high schools all start and dismiss at different times, but the one constant is the 15 mph speed limit.
A Notice of Violation (NOV) is mailed to the registered owner; the civil penalty is $100, no points are assessed, and drivers may request a hearing.
Contest if you must, but the odds are long: only about eight percent of hearings end in dismissal, according to De La Espriella.
Where are the most tickets being issued:
Top ticket hot spots to date, county records show:
NE 203rd St at Highland Oaks Middle (westbound): 27,359 NOVs
Ludlam Rd at American Senior High (southbound and northbound combined): 25,480 NOVs
W Flagler St at Ruben Dario Middle / E.W.F. Stirrup Elementary (eastbound and westbound combined): 24,318 NOVs
SW 107th Ave at Kendale Elementary (northbound): 13,672 NOVs
NE First Ave near Gratigny Elementary (westbound at 119th): 12,172 NOVs
SW 24th St at West Miami Middle (westbound): 10,820 NOVs
Ives Dairy Rd at Madie Ives K-8 (westbound): 9,420 NOVs
SW 40th St at Olympia Heights Elementary (westbound): 8,399 NOVs
