“[Blue Line Solutions, of Chatanooga, Tenn.] is showing us how they work and what type of data we would get. At this point, we are just gathering information,” said Stafford Sheriff’s Major Shawn Kimmitz.
It is one of multiple firms the sheriff’s office works with as it tests new equipment. The cameras are not actively citing drivers during the demonstration phase.
Stafford County Sheriff David Decatur discussed the possibility of introducing traffic and speed cameras to his deputies’ traffic enforcement toolkit during a Stafford County Board of Supervisors Public Safety Committee meeting today, Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023.
Hartwood District Supervisor Darrell English voiced concerns brought to him by residents who say speeding is out of control along a seven-mile stretch of Route 17, from the Fauquier County line to a Walmart on Village Lakes Parkway.
Decatur suggested traffic cameras might help change the behaviors of drivers who speed. While he supports using technology for traffic enforcement to curb speeding, Decatur said there is no evidence that it will.
The state allows counties to erect speed cameras near schools and highway work zones and use red light cameras to reduce traffic crashes by stopping red-light runners. Decatur said the sheriff’s office should identify which areas would suit each type of camera and report back to supervisors in Spring 2024.
Meanwhile in neighboring The Prince William County, officials have rolled out an Automated Traffic Enforcement Pilot Program, which will place speed cameras in selected school zones across the county.
The initial school zones where automated enforcement will be deployed include Battlefield High School on Route 15, Woodbridge High School and Old Bridge Elementary School on Old Bridge Road, Fitzgerald Elementary School on Benita Fitzgerald Drive, and Patriot High School and T. Clay Wood Elementary School on Kettle Run Road. More school zones will be added to the program in the coming months.
