Dayton speed cameras: City may add traffic cameras to more school zones

The city of Dayton says it wants to “renew and enhance” its automated traffic camera system that last year issued more than 140,000 citations to motorists.

The Dayton Police Department has speed camera trailers in 11 school zones and three other locations, and the city has signaled that it would like to install automated traffic cameras in some of the 18 other school zones in Dayton that currently do not have them. The city also may pursue technology to record vehicles and fine motorists who illegally pass stopped school buses that have their lights flashing and stop-arms extended.

“The cameras are valuable, and certainly in school zones where the speed limit is the lowest,” said Joe Parlette, Dayton’s deputy city manager. “We want school zones to be as safe as they can be.”

Smile, you’re on camera

Last year, the Dayton Police Department’s automated traffic safety photo enforcement program issued about 140,560 citations. The city has used automated cameras for traffic enforcement for more than two decades.

In 2023, police mailed out more than 155,260 citations for violations caught on camera, after issuing 121,100 fines in 2022.

Dayton has automated traffic cameras at 14 sites across the city, and all but three of those trailers are in school zones.

In February, Dayton issued a request for qualifications (RFQ) seeking firms to operate the police department’s automated traffic photo enforcement program.

The city’s contract with its current vendor, Altumint Inc. (formerly Optotraffic LLC), expired at the end of last year; however, the agreement was extended through the end of June.

Dayton procurement documents tied to the RFQ state that 18 school zones across the city do not currently have cameras, but the city would like to cover as many school zones as possible “within reasonable limits.”

The RFQ also says the city is interested in possibly linking its automated traffic cameras to school bus stop-arm enforcement systems. This would help police cite and fine motorists who illegally pass school buses that have their stop-arms extended.

More than two dozen states have laws that allow the use of automatic cameras to catch drivers who illegally pass stopped school buses, including Ohio.

City officials say automated traffic cameras reduce speeding and dangerous driving behaviors.

“The program is designed to improve traffic and pedestrian safety, particularly in high-incident areas,” said Abbie Patel-Jones, Dayton’s director of management and budget. “It plays a vital role in reducing speeding, traffic violations and increasing overall safety on city streets.”

Dayton Assistant Police Chief Eric Henderson said photo enforcement cameras are a “force multiplier” for the police department’s efforts to cut down on speeding on roadways, in the hopes of reducing the frequency and severity of injury and fatal crashes.

“Undoubtedly, there would be an adverse impact if technology such as photo enforcement cameras were not utilized to address these issues,” he said.

Henderson said studies have found that photo enforcement cameras have led to significant reductions in crashes, including collisions that cause injury.

“The Dayton Police Department is constantly evaluating technologies as a tool to help keep the community safe,” he said.

Dayton received nearly $4.1 million in photo enforcement revenue last year, and the city expects to collect a similar amount of revenue this year.

Cities receive local government fund money as one form of state funding. But for cities that use automated traffic cameras, state law cuts their LGF allocations by whatever amount of money the city collects in camera fines.

However, the state returns any fine revenue that cities collected from traffic violations that occur in school zones.

Deputy City Manager Parlette said the city has continued to deploy automated speed cameras despite changes to state law that are meant to discourage their use, because the city believes they are an effective tool to make roadways safer.

“We willingly lose money because we firmly believe these trailers and speed cameras affect driving behavior,” he said.

He said speed trailer sites are selected based on traffic crash data, including the location of fatal and injury-causing crashes.

Speed cameras are controversial, and some critics have said called them a “cash grab” by local governments.

Over the years, opponents of the cameras in Ohio have claimed that speed trailers too often are placed in lower-income areas, penalizing motorists who can least afford to pay the fines.