Oakland’s new speed cameras issued 82,000 tickets in just over a month

Oakland’s new speed cameras are catching drivers at a rapid pace, recording about 82,000 citations with fines in just over a month. 

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Preliminary data from Oakland’s Department of Transportation shows that it issued an average of 60 citations per day per camera between March 15 and April 25. Though the 35 cameras at 18 locations were first activated on Jan. 14, the city did not start issuing fines for the first 60 days they were in operation.

Following the grace period, the fines now start at $50 for drivers going 11 to 15 mph over the posted speed limit. Drivers caught going 16 to 25 mph over the limit are fined $100, and driving more than 25 mph racks up a $200 ticket. If a vehicle is caught going more than 100 mph or more in general on the city streets, the fine is $500. 

The top location for official citations was along southbound 2345 73rd Ave. with 8,127 speeding tickets. The highest speed recorded in that area was 43.7 mph. However, that location was not where the fastest drivers were caught. 

The top speed was 55.3 mph at southbound Hegenberger Road between Spencer and Hawley streets, where 6,902 citations were issued. The other top locations were northbound 2206 73rd Ave. (6,147 citations), 2710 Broadway (6,118 citations) and 1050 West Grand Ave. (5,406 citations). 

Kent Bravo, a spokesperson for the city’s transportation department, told SFGATE that the next official report will be released late summer with more data and a “comprehensive analysis.” 

Assembly Bill 645, signed into law in 2023, is a pilot program that authorized the speed cameras in San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, Los Angeles, Glendale and Long Beach. The program is approved until January 2032. Most cities included in the program have been rolling out their cameras in phases between 2025 and 2026. 

In the first month after the grace period for its speed camera network expired last year, San Francisco issued more than 16,500 tickets.