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PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 20, 2025

CONTACT: Jodie Medeiros, Executive Director, Walk SF, jodie@walksf.org, 415.596.1580; Marta Lindsey, Communications Director, Walk SF, marta@walksf.org, 617.833.7654

San Francisco’s first month of speed camera data shows speeding is out of control

Dangerous behavior is #1 cause of severe and fatal crashes

San Francisco, Calif. – Today, SFMTA staff shared the first month of data collected by San Francisco’s new speed camera program at the SFMTA Board of Directors meeting.

The data, which is now available publicly at DataSF, offers a detailed look at the most dangerous, pervasive driver behavior in San Francisco. Speeding is the #1 cause of severe and fatal crashes in San Francisco year after year.

“This data reflects what we have been feeling: that dangerous speeding is out of control on our streets, and is a daily threat to our safety,” said Walk San Francisco’s executive director Jodie Medeiros.

More than 31,000 warnings were issued in April to drivers going more than 10 MPH above the speed limit. This data is partial, as it’s from only some camera locations. Of the 33 speed camera locations, 12 are still not yet operational and some came online in mid-April. Today, the SFMTA stated that all cameras will be running in early June with the 60-day warning period starting for all locations at the same time. This means citations will begin to be issued by September 1.

At one speed camera location, Fulton (Arguello to 2nd Avenue), almost a quarter of speeding drivers (which speed cameras consider someone going more than 10 MPH above the limit) are going more than 15 MPH above the speed limit. That location is right next to Golden Gate Park and where thousands of people cross daily to get to school, the bus, and the park.

At another speed camera location, Geary (Webster to Buchanan), a driver was recorded going 65 MPH in a 30 MPH zone. In April, 4% of all warnings went to drivers going 21 MPH or more over the posted speed limit. Those 4% are deeply troubling in terms of the safety threat they represent.

“We have a crisis on our streets with dangerous speeding,” said Medeiros. “The City must address speeding not just with speed cameras, but every possible tool.”

Walk San Francisco, together with partners, delivered a letter to Mayor Daniel Lurie on Monday asking him to adopt a new Vision Zero policy and plan that focuses on speeding. Read the letter.

“Speed kills. But there are many solutions to design and enforce streets to keep speeds down,” said Medeiros. “Most of these are in the City’s hands to use right now.”

“The fact that San Francisco has no Vision Zero policy and no plan for traffic safety is unconscionable,” said Medeiros. “Between the deadliest year in a decade for traffic deaths and this data, what are our leaders waiting for?”

Walk San Francisco is specifically asking for the City’s next Vision Zero plan to commit to:

  • Lower speed limits by 5 MPH on every eligible high-injury street and commercial street by December 2027, plus pursue state legislation by 2028 to make all residential streets at 20 MPH.
  • Install ‘turn calming’ at all eligible high-injury intersections by December 2027 to slow drivers as they navigate turns, addressing one of the greatest threats to pedestrians.
  • Reform the existing Residential Traffic Calming Program in 2026 to proactively determine where speed humps and cushions are needed across neighborhoods, with data-driven design standards agreed to by SFMTA, DPW, and SFFD. Complete speed hump and cushion installations citywide by 2030.
  • Redesign all wide one-way, multi-lane, high-injury streets with known speeding problems like Harrison, 9th, 10th, Bryant, Gough, and Franklin by 2028.
  • Hold all City agency employees in city vehicles accountable for dangerous speeding, with driver education and correction plans for repeat offenders.
  • Focus SFPD’s limited traffic enforcement capacity on complementing and amplifying the effectiveness of the speed camera program.
  • Publish crash fatality and injury analysis from SFDPH annually to support City agencies in making data-based decisions and prioritizing projects.

BACKGROUND 

Speeding is the #1 cause of severe and fatal traffic crashes in San Francisco and statewide. 

The faster a driver is going, the more likely a crash is to occur. A driver has a smaller scope of vision, less time to react, and can’t stop the vehicle as quickly. And the human body can’t withstand the additional force as speeds rise.

In 2024, 42 people were killed in traffic crashes in San Francisco, the highest number since 2007. More than 500 were severely injured in traffic crashes. Dangerous speeding is the leading cause of these crashes.

Walk San Francisco and traffic victims worked for eight years to pass legislation allowing speed cameras to be made legal in California. Assembly Bill 645, signed into law on October 13, 2023, allows San Francisco (plus Los Angeles, San Jose, Oakland, Glendale, and Long Beach) to pilot the use of speed cameras.

With the launch of San Francisco’s speed camera program, California joined 21 states in allowing the use of speed cameras to enforce one of the deadliest driver behaviors. Speed cameras dramatically shift behavior and can reduce the number of severe and fatal crashes by as much as 58%. In New York City, the speed camera program has resulted in a 94 percent reduction in speeding at speed camera locations.

In 2014, the City of San Francisco adopted Vision Zero. Vision Zero is a data-driven, preventative, and interagency approach and commitment to end severe and fatal traffic crashes. While the City has made important progress in redesigning streets to improve safety in support of Vision Zero, severe and fatal crash numbers have yet to go down.

The past decade has also brought additional and significant challenges: increased traffic from delivery trucks and rideshare services; larger, heavier, and more powerful vehicles; and a rise in dangerous and aggressive driving behaviors.

San Francisco currently has no Vision Zero policy or plan in place. The City’s Vision Zero policy expired last year, and the last interagency action plan for Vision Zero is from 2021.

Walk SF is asking City leaders to act quickly to adopt a new Vision Zero policy and aggressive action plan focused on reducing dangerous speeds, the #1 cause of severe and fatal crashes in San Francisco. Learn more.

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Walk San Francisco (‘Walk SF’) advocates for safe streets for everyone who walks, which is everyone. Since our founding in 1998, Walk SF has been leading the way to make San Francisco a pedestrian-first city where people of every age and ability can walk safely. Learn more.