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The Vast Majority of Speed Camera Tickets are Issued to Motorists Traveling <br />at the Natural Speed of the Roadway <br />The speed limit on a number of streets in Santa Ana is unrealistically low for the <br />roadway design. With a few outliers, this is why drivers “speed” on these <br />roadways, not because they are a group of wanton scofflaws. <br />For example, the operational speed of free-flow traffic on Main Street between <br />Washington Avenue and 1st Street is 40 mph at the 85th percentile, while the <br />posted speed limit is 30 mph. Automated tickets issued under AB 645 begin at 11 <br />mph over the posted speed limit. If speed cameras were placed on this segment, <br />drivers would be ticketed for traveling just 1 mph over the natural speed of the <br />roadway. Similarly, the operational speed on multi-lane Harbor Boulevard from <br />MacArthur Boulevard to the north city limits is 47 to 48 mph, while the posted <br />speed limit is 40 mph. Under the speed camera pilot program, drivers going just 3 <br />to 4 mph above that natural speed would be ticketed. <br />In effect, the government builds roadways that encourage drivers to feel <br />comfortable traveling above the desired speed, then installs ticketing cameras to <br />cite drivers for doing exactly what the roadway design encourages. That is a <br />classic speed trap. <br />If officials set speed limits more realistically, or designed roadways to be self- <br />enforcing at lower speeds, the vast majority of these violations would disappear <br />overnight. <br />Proper Traffic Engineering Countermeasures are More Effective than <br />Ticketing Cameras <br />Before considering additional enforcement in the form of automated ticketing <br />machines, the City of Santa Ana should first take all reasonable measures to <br />employ engineering safety countermeasures that naturally reduce speeds to <br />desired levels.