(City of South Fulton, GA – February 16, 2021) – A camera-driven enforcement effort to cut speeds in City of South Fulton school zones resulted in an 82-percent reduction in the number of speeding citations issued during the first five months of the current school year, numbers reported today by the city show. Officials launched the Ren’gia Majors School Zone Safety Program in late 2019. The initiative is named for an 11-year-old Sandtown Middle School student who was killed in February of that year when a speeding vehicle struck the car in which she was riding in front of the school. City officials partnered with Blue Line Solutions to manage the program, which also reduced the number of cars traveling through school zones.
“We are celebrating success that has grown from tragedy,” said Mayor William ‘Bill” Edwards. “Not only are we honoring Ms. Majors, we are working to ensure our children are as safe as possible so no other family has to mourn the loss of a child.” Dormant for much of last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the school zone initiative became operative again in September in a staggered rollout across the zones. In corresponding 30-day grace periods, violators received warning citations.
Actual tickets, carrying fines of $100 for first offenses and $150 for subsequent violations, were issued following those warning periods. According to data gathered by Blue Line Solutions, the number drivers cited for speeding plunged from 38,315 to 6,917 – a drop of 82 percent across the school zones. Eight of the 10 active zones saw drops of at least 75 percent. Also during the reporting period, overall traffic through the school zones declined by 18 percent – or just over 25,000 vehicles.