PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 29, 2026

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

Speed cameras have dramatically changed driver behavior at camera locations one year after program launch

Victims, community leaders, and safe streets advocates celebrate

San Francisco, Calif. – Today, Wednesday, April 29 from 8:30 – 9:00AM, advocates, victims, and city leaders including District 6 Supervisor Matt Dorsey and SFMTA Director of Streets Viktoriya Wise gathered at the intersection of Harrison & 4th Street in the SOMA to celebrate the one-year anniversary of San Francisco’s speed camera program. 

There are a total of 33 locations with speed cameras in San Francisco, per the state legislation AB 645. Seven speed camera locations are in the SOMA neighborhood due to the concentration of high-injury streets. 

The celebration was held at the speed cameras located on Harrison between 4th and 5th Streets. At the speed camera at Harrison and 4th, the number of drivers going more than 10MPH over the speed limits has gone down 75%, from 25% of drivers to 6%. 

“Every street in SOMA is on the high-injury network and the people who live here have to face that every day as they get around,” said Rudy Corpuz, executive director of United Playaz, a community-based organization in the SOMA. “Speed cameras are getting drivers to slow down, respect our neighborhood, and make people safer. You can really feel the difference on SOMA streets with speed cameras.”

“Dangerous speeding is the #1 cause of severe and fatal crashes in San Francisco,” said Jodie Medeiros, executive director of Walk San Francisco. “Speed cameras are a game changer, dramatically changing driver behavior to make everyone safer. San Francisco is leading the state in piloting this powerful, lifesaving technology.” 

“Walk San Francisco worked for so many years with Families for Safe Streets members to pass state legislation allowing speed cameras here in SF because we need this powerful tool,” said Medeiros. “Speed kills.”

Jenny Yu, a founding member of San Francisco Bay Area Families for Safe Streets, advocated for years with other victims for San Francisco to have legal authority to use speed cameras. Jenny’s mom Judy was hit by a speeding driver 15 years ago in San Francisco. Judy suffered severe injuries and has required 24-hour care since the crash.

“Whenever I see a speed camera, I feel a sense of relief and gratitude. Because of speed cameras, fewer families will experience tragedies like what happened to mine,” said Yu. 

Data from the SFMTA shows that speed cameras are proving highly effective at changing driver behavior and making streets safer. The share of drivers speeding 10 MPH or more is down nearly 80% across camera locations. By fall and winter, just 2% of drivers were traveling 10 MPH or more over the speed limit. This is equivalent to 40,000+ fewer instances of dangerous speeding.

Photos and videos will be available after the event. Contact Marta Lindsey, Walk SF’s communications director, at 617.833.7654. On Instagram & Bluesky: @walksf 

BACKGROUND 

The threat of dangerous speeding is significant – and growing.

The faster a driver is going, the more likely a crash is to occur and the more serious the consequences. 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.

For every mile faster a driver goes, the threat rises quickly. Doubling a car’s speed quadruples its kinetic energy, making the stakes increasingly high above 25 MPH.

By 40 MPH, about 75% of pedestrians will suffer a life-threatening injury or die if hit. This likely underestimates risk because the studies this is based on do not take into account how much larger and heavier vehicles are today. The average American passenger vehicle is now 8 inches taller and 1,000 pounds heavier than it was three decades ago. SUVs and trucks are now the dominant type of vehicle, making up almost 75% of the market share.

It’s not just that vehicles are bigger and heavier, making crashes even deadlier for those outside the vehicle. It’s also easier than ever for drivers to dangerously accelerate, and too often, they do. The automobile industry continues to design vehicles that are dramatically faster than in previous generations. The average American vehicle from model year 2021 could reach 60 mph in 7.7 seconds. This is about twice as fast as cars purchased in the early 1980s. Electric vehicles are even faster than the average American vehicle, with many reaching 60 MPH in only a few seconds.

The percentage of total crashes resulting in death has also been rising in recent years (from 6.6% between 2015 and 2019 to 9.4% between 2020 and 2024), as well as the number of speed-related crashes (read more in this 2024 SFMTA report). 

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

While in 2025 San Francisco had one of the lowest numbers of traffic deaths in a decade, the previous year was the highest (42) since 2014. The percentage of total crashes resulting in death has been rising in recent years, as well as the number of speed-related crashes (read more in this 2024 SFMTA report). 

Speed cameras are a proven solution to change driver behavior and save lives.

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 and attributed with significant decreases in pedestrian injuries and fatalities.

San Francisco is the first city in California to launch speed cameras on its streets. 

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. San Francisco is the first city in California to launch its speed camera program. 

The speed camera program is designed to change behavior, with fines starting at just $50 and has important equity and privacy provisions. 

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. 

AB 645 was a thoughtfully-written bill with strong privacy protections and equity considerations. AB 645 doesn’t allow any facial recognition with the cameras. Only the rear license plate of a speeding vehicle will be captured as part of the program. The data will be stored for SFMTA use only and will not be shared with any other agency, unless court ordered to do so. 

Speed camera violations have no criminal penalties and don’t add points against a driver’s license at the state Department of Motor Vehicles. San Francisco will reduce fines for those under the poverty line by 80% or offer community service, and reduce fines by 50% for individuals 200% above the poverty level. Learn more about San Francisco’s speed camera program.

Every solution possible to reduce dangerous speeding is needed.

Walk San Francisco is also advocating for a range of solutions to reduce dangerous speeding. This includes:

• The ‘Stop Super Speeders’ bill (AB 2276), which would require ‘active Intelligent Speed Assistance’ to be installed in the vehicles of drivers convicted of severe speeding-related offenses so they can’t speed.
• A more efficient, equitable, and proactive Residential Traffic Calming Program so the SFMTA installs many more speed humps, tables, and cushions on neighborhood streets to address dangerous speeding. 
• Lowering speed limits on all streets allowed by the state law AB 43; there are still streets with 35 and 40MPH limits in San Francisco which lead to drivers going 50MPH+ in our neighborhoods.
• Rapid expansion of ‘turn calming’ which places rubber bumpers or posts strategically in an intersection so drivers have to take tighter, slower turns. At intersections in New York City with turn calming, pedestrian injuries have decreased by 18%.

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Walk San Francisco (‘Walk SF’) advocates for safe streets for everyone who walks. 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.

San Francisco Bay Area Families for Safe Streets is a group of people who have been directly affected by traffic crashes, including crash survivors and people whose loved ones have been killed or injured in traffic crashes. Learn more.