Los Angeles falls behind other California cities in rollout of speed cameras

By Kristine Lazar is an Emmy award-winning consumer investigative reporter for CBS LA. Read Full Bio July 31, 2026 / 10:27 AM EDT / CBS LA Add CBS News on Google Los Angeles has yet to install any of the 125 automated speed enforcement cameras planned under a statewide pilot program, despite an earlier city timeline that projected the devices would be installed and ready for testing by July.The delay comes as speeding remains a leading factor in traffic crashes across California. According to data from the California Highway Patrol, more than 24,000 speed-related crashes occurred statewide in 2025, with nearly 10,000 resulting in injuries.The automated speed camera program stems from legislation signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2024 authorizing a pilot program in LA, San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, Glendale and Long Beach. Malibu was later authorized to install cameras along Pacific Coast Highway under separate legislation, Senate Bill 1297.San Francisco and Oakland have already installed cameras, and data suggests they've resulted in safer conditions. The San Francisco Municipal Transit agency shared data that show, after one year, a nearly 80% drop in the share of drivers traveling 10 mph or more above the posted speed limit in areas where the city's 56 cameras are active, and roughly 40,000 fewer cases of speeding every day across camera locations. Within five weeks of speed cameras becoming operational, the city of Oakland reported the average speed of traffic was "close to the posted speed limit at all [35 camera] locations."Meanwhile, LA has fallen behind schedule, drawing criticism from traffic safety advocates. A December report card issued by the nonprofit advocacy group Streets Are for Everyone, known as SAFE, gave LA a "D" grade for its progress implementing the pilot program, ranking it behind the six other participating cities.Damian Kevitt, SAFE's executive director, suggested Los Angeles has spent too much time studying the program instead of implementing it."San Francisco took the authorization by the state seriously," Kevitt said. "They didn't wait for years to think about it, study it and debate about it."Kevitt said the delays have public safety consequences, noting that speeding is the leading cause of serious traffic injuries and deaths in Los Angeles. "For the past three years, Los Angeles has had more traffic fatalities than homicides," he said.In an email to CBS LA, Colin Sweeney, a spokesperson for the LA Department of Transportation, said the city has made "significant progress" since SAFE issued its report card and is now at the same stage of implementation as Glendale, San Jose and Long Beach. The department said the automated speed enforcement program is expected to launch this fall and that an official start date will be announced in the coming weeks. LADOT has also begun a public education campaign that includes billboards and social media outreach.Kevitt acknowledged the city's recent progress, saying he would now give Los Angeles a grade of "C-" or "C.""They are still in last place, but they're at least moving now, and there is a light at the end of the tunnel," he said.Once the cameras are installed, the city will conduct testing followed by a 60-day warning period, during which drivers photographed speeding will receive warnings instead of citations. After that period ends, fines will begin at $50.Where are California's photo-enforced roadways?While LADOT has posted the locations of the 125 new cameras on its website, CBS LA could not find a public website that posts the location of all speed and red light cameras in California. TicketSnipers, a service that helps drivers challenge traffic citations, recently created an interactive map using publicly available information from cities, counties, transportation agencies and photo-enforcement program disclosures, combined with locations reviewed through actual California traffic citation cases over the last two years. "Our goal is to provide a practical public resource that helps drivers stay informed, slow down, pay closer attention in high-enforcement areas, and better understand where automated enforcement is being used across the state," said Jorian Goes, founder of TicketSnipers.