Governor Abigail Spanberger is considering a bill that would allow for more cameras to catch speeding drivers.
For Delegate Holly Seibold, a Democrat from Vienna, the need for cameras to catch speeding drivers is underscored by a tragedy that happened in her district.
"In 2022, three of my constituents were walking home from Oakton High School and were struck by a speeding driver, another student at the school who was driving 80 miles per hour in a 35 mile per hour zone," Seibold says.
Two students died and one was injured. The speeding student is in prison, and Seibold is sending a bill to the governor's desk that allows for speed cameras in so-called "red zones," areas designated by the Virginia Department of Transportation as some of the most dangerous. She says cameras will make people slow down. But Republican Senator Mark Peake of Lynchburg says officers will make people slow down, not cameras.
"I think we need more officers if we want to make the roads more safe. The problem with these speed cameras is a vast chunk of money is going to out-of-state companies and corporations, and all they're doing is fining people," Peake says. "We need cars on the road. We need officers on the road, and that gets people's attention. And that makes them actually slow down."
To pass the bill, Seibold agreed to a compromise that limits the cameras to Northern Virginia. She says she would like to see the governor amend the bill to allow them in red zones across Virginia. The governor has about two weeks to make a decision on this bill and hundreds of others.
