'There’s no point in fighting!' Drivers who appeal school speed zone camera fines almost guaranteed to lose
Inside an appeals hearing in Hillsborough County last month, our cameras captured driver after driver trying to make their case over why they did not deserve a $100 violation for speeding in a school zone.
All these drivers who tried to contest their citations were caught on camera speeding in a school zone after a 2023 law gave Florida counties and cities the green light to equip school zones with speed cameras.
But the problem is, some drivers say they are being unfairly fined. In fact, the cameras have already been suspended in Manatee County and the City of Palm Bay over concerns drivers were being unfairly cited.
Last month, we shared the stories of drivers getting cited when signs directing them to slow down "when flashing" weren’t flashing. Then we discovered the new law doesn’t say they have to if there’s a sign nearby warning drivers it’s a school zone.
“I got a raw deal,” he told us after a school speed zone camera caught him going 38 mph when he thought the speed limit was 40mph because the school speed zone sign wasn’t flashing when he was driving past an elementary school near his home. In fact, despite the sign stating, "20 mph when flashing," the sign isn’t even equipped with a flashing beacon.
