Speed cameras will be operating for the first time in LA as early as this fall at 125 different locations peppered throughout the city.
LA is one of seven cities in California authorized to test the pilot program through 2031. San Francisco and Oakland have already begun operating their own systems.
The cameras — which can reduce serious traffic accidents by 20 to 25%, according to studies reviewed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration — are meant to deter speedsters and lower the risk of serious or fatal traffic accidents.
LA already tried automated traffic enforcement more than a decade ago, but the city shuttered a short-lived red-light camera program in 2011, largely because drivers could ignore tickets with little to no consequence.
The LA Department of Transportation mapped out its speed camera plans in a series of documents. Here’s what to know:
How did LADOT pick camera locations?
The 2023 state law that authorized LA’s speed camera program, Assembly Bill 645, doesn’t allow the city to just plant a speed camera anywhere.
LADOT started its speed camera planning focused on the 550 miles of streets the city designated in 2025 as Priority Safety Corridors.Targeted streets either have to be school zones or have a proven history of street racing or safety issues.
The department broke those streets down into segments between 0.5 and 3 miles, then assigned each segment a score based on traffic data and how close they were to schools and senior centers.
Here are the factors LADOT considered for each segment:
- The number of speed-related crashes
- If the street is within 500 feet of a school
- The percentage of passing vehicles logged as speeding
- If the street is within 500 feet of a senior center
- If the street has marked crosswalks with no traffic signals
- If the street is part of the city’s network of major arterial roads
- If the street is part of the city’s neighborhood-linking network
- If the street was flagged as a top 50 street racing location in the city in 2023
LADOT combined those scores with City Council feedback to whittle the list of potential speed camera zones down to 125.
The final list places eight or nine speed camera zones in each council district, with less than half of the zones in neighborhoods the city considers to carry some of the heaviest health and economic burdens.
As the speed cameras roll out, LADOT is required to track their effectiveness and economic impact and to file a report with the state legislature after a few years.
What do the cameras capture and what happens to the photos?
LADOT plans for its speed cameras to snap photos of only the back end of vehicles going at least 11 mph over the speed limit. The cameras will be programmed to avoid capturing drivers or passengers.
If nearby pedestrians, cyclists or other passersby are caught by the camera, LADOT policy is to destroy those images. State law explicitly bans the use of facial recognition technology with speed cameras.
Read more: Speed cameras are coming to Koreatown, Pico Union and Westlake — here’s where they’ll go
The images will be accessible only to trained, authorized users including LADOT staff and approved third-party contractors.
LADOT will check photos for a speeding vehicle’s license plate, make and model, then send a violation notice to the vehicle’s registered owner within 15 calendar days. Fines range from $50 to $500 depending on how fast a vehicle is moving.
Images that don’t result in a citation have to be deleted within five days. If a citation is issued, the city can hang onto the image for up to 60 days after the violation is resolved.
Can I challenge a speed camera ticket?
Vehicle owners have multiple ways to respond to a speed camera citation beyond simply paying the fine.
Low-income individuals who meet certain thresholds can have fines reduced by 50% up to 80%.
Others can apply to do community service in lieu of a fine, or set up a monthly payment plan.
Read more: Speed cameras approved for Boyle Heights: Here’s where they’ll be installed
Vehicle owners can also challenge their citation, requesting a review within 30 days of the violation notice being mailed. If they aren’t happy with the initial review, they can contest the violation in an administrative hearing.
Speed camera citations will be considered civil violations — akin to a parking ticket — and so will not add penalty points to a driver’s license or affect insurance, according to LADOT documents.
