How fast are you driving?

Speed cameras will be installed near three public schools in the Five Towns, one near Lawrence Middle School and another between Hewlett Elementary School and Hewlett High School. Both locations are on Broadway.
It is unclear exactly when the cameras will be installed, but Judge John Marks, executive director of the Nassau County Traffic and Parking Violations Agency, said that at least one camera would be operational in each of the county’s 56 school districts by the end of 2014. “Our goal is to make our roadways safer by reducing speeding vehicles, collisions and associated injuries and fatalities,” Marks said in a press release.
The speed camera program is also expected to generate up to $30 million in annual revenue for the county, according to official projections. The cameras, which will operate between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. on school days, issue tickets to motorists who are clocked at more than 10 mph over the posted speed limit. Each violation is $80, which includes a $50 fine and a $30 administrative fee. Signs denoting the photo-enforced zones will also be installed, said Brian Nevin, a county spokesman.
Based on statistics provided by the county, a child has a 30 percent chance of surviving being hit by a car traveling 40 mph, but an 80 percent chance of surviving if the vehicle is traveling 30 mph. According to Nevin, studies conducted by the county have found that in some areas, more than 200 motorists per hour exceed school speed zone limits by at least 20 mph.
The Tri-State Transportation Campaign, a New York-based nonprofit advocacy organization dedicated to reducing car dependency in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, has determined that a pedestrian is at high risk of being struck by a vehicle within a quarter-mile of a school in Nassau County. Of the 37 pedestrians — children and adults — killed on the county’s streets in 2012, 14, or 38 percent, were hit within a quarter-mile of a school.

Originally, officials planned to install the Hewlett-Woodmere School District’s camera near Woodmere Middle School, on Peninsula Boulevard in Hewlett. But Deputy Superintendent Dr. Peter Weber said that the district asked instead that the camera be set up between Hewlett Elementary and the intersection of Broadway and Everit Avenue, near the high school.
“The request is based upon multiple instances where a pedestrian has been struck while crossing,” Weber said. “As motorists learn to closely monitor their speed within the designated zones to avoid tickets, motorists and pedestrians should have more time to respond.” The district has had speed monitors operating on each side of the school zone for the past few years.
Lawrence Superintendent Gary Schall said his district is awaiting confirmation of the installation date, and added that he thinks the camera will help reduce speeding. “Cameras have already been proven to alleviate speeding by heightening driver awareness and providing an effective means for policing traffic,” he said.

Have an opinion about speed cameras? Send your letter to the editor to jbessen@liherald.com.