I-TEAM: Automated speed cameras – for protection or for profit?
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Recently, you may have received a citation in the mail with a picture of your car saying you were speeding.
It’s most likely from an automated speed traffic camera.
These cameras have started popping up in hundreds of counties all across the state of Georgia, including Burke County and the City of Wrens.
I-TEAM reporter Will Rioux is digging deeper into these cameras as lawmakers look to ban private camera companies in the state.
It’s a highly debated topic across the state – using automated cameras to catch speeding vehicles in school zones.
Now, there are some conversations on if these cameras are being used to protect or to make a profit.
Remains identified from burned, abandoned Ga. funeral home
The Cobb County Medical Examiner’s Office has identified 57 sets of cremated remains that were found at an abandoned and burned funeral home last year.
One attorney we talked to called these cameras cash-ed justice.
Waynesboro — the bird dog capital of the world.
The town may not be a bustling tourist destination, and drivers on the by aren’t leaving with a postcard.
“They got that picture of my car and my tag, and they sent it to me,” said Diane Morris.
But many are leaving with a photograph of their vehicle instead and a hefty $100 fine.
“It’s just normal for me to do the 55,” said Morris.
Morris was one of those drivers.
“I guess that’s the way they get you,” she said.
BURKE COUNTY INVESTIGATION:
- Federal lawsuit filed against Burke County Sheriff’s Office
- Are Burke County sheriff and his ers above the law?
- ATF raids business of man linked to Burke County sheriff
- Burke County sheriff’s ongoing problems
- More on a case that vanished under Burke County Sheriff Alfonzo Williams’ watch
- 2nd Burke County DUI case never makes it to court
- Burke County audit finds big problems with sheriff’s spending
What got her was an automated school zone speed camera, planted right in front of the Burke County High School on Highway 25, which was put there by the sheriff’s office.
Will: “What was it like when you got that $100 ticket in the mail?”
Morris: “I was shocked, and I didn’t think it was me until I looked at the other pages and it did. It had my car, and it had my tag.”
Will: “You don’t any flashing lights from that day?”
Morris: “I did not see any flashing lights. I did not see anything warning me that school was in.”
That’s because it is actually an active school zone from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., according to the sign.
That means the speed limit is 45 mph during that timeframe.
The problem the I-TEAM found is that the lights don’t flash all day, so most drivers think the speed limit is the normal speed limit, which is 55 mph.
911 call released in Burke County fatal shooting
Newly released 911 calls shed light on what happened when a man was fatally shot in Burke County over the weekend.
“It said I was going 56, speed limit is 55. Either way, you look at it, I was going one mile over the speed limit, but I got a $100 ticket, and I paid it,” said Morris.
Even a letter from the Burke County Sheriff’s Office says it will maintain flashing yellow lights within the school zone.
The I-TEAM’s cameras found the lights don’t flash all day, even though the cameras are on.
It can be confusing as drivers think the speed limit is 55, and not a 45 mph school zone in the middle of the day.
“Like I said I know the light doesn’t flash all day long,” said Morris.
The speed cameras are operated by a private company out of Maryland, called Altumint.
Since the sheriff’s office and the Board of Education started the contract with Altumint, 4,675 citations have been mailed out to drivers.
The county raked in more than $570,000 in just seven months.
Altumint gets a cut too — 25% per paid citation, which is more than $116,000 so far.
Georgia law says that money can be used for law enforcement.
Will: “Do you think that this is a money grab?”
John Bell: “Oh, it is. I mean, these companies don’t give a hoot about public safety. They are in it for money. They’re a private, for-profit corporation.”
John Bell with the Bell Law Firm in Augusta calls these programs cash ed justice.
He’s filed several civil and class action lawsuits challenging automated speed camera companies across the state.
The citations are civil penalties. They don’t count towards your driving record. But if left unpaid, the state can put a lien on your car or suspend your vehicle registration.
MORE FROM THE I-TEAM:
- Homeowners left feeling uninsured months after Hurricane Helene
- Where did entitlement money go for brick house on Branch Street?
- Are Augusta stormwater fees funding other city departments?
- A look at broken water systems within Aiken County
- ‘Very frustrated’: Homeowners feel ignored by insurance companies
According to the Georgia Department of Revenue, that’s happened to at least 119,000 drivers since 2019.
There’s very little recourse, other than drivers trying to fight the ticket in court.
“A defendant is presumed innocent, and the state has to prove he did wrong. They are making the one charge wrongfully prove his innocence,” said Bell.
Georgia opened the door for private companies to operate these cameras seven years ago.
Georgia’s Department of Transportation says at least 278 have popped up across the state.
That includes the city of Wrens, which tells the I-TEAM it’s collected more than $444,000 from drivers and mailed out more than 10,500 citations since 2022.
Back to Burke County, where drivers are being cited at times outside of the timeframe cameras are said to be operating.
A driver was ticketed at 7:25 a.m. and another at 7:11 a.m. Both happened before 7:30, which is when the cameras were supposed to be started.
“They write more tickets when schools are in session. But the lights outside are not flashing and no schoolchildren are coming in and out of school,” said Bell.
And more cameras could be on the way.
G-DOT data shows two permits were approved for R.L. Norris Elementary School in Thomson and Brentwood School in Washington County.
But now, some state lawmakers are pumping the brakes.
SLED charges 2 people following murder investigation in Johnston
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division has charged two people in relation to a 2022 murder investigation in Johnston, according to the agency.
“This is abusive, It is hiding behind the excuse of children’s safety, and it’s being used to take millions of dollars out of the pockets of Georgians and it’s wrong and it needs to be undone,” said State Representative for District 144 Dale Washburn.
Under the gold dome, Washburn is behind House Bill 225, which would repeal the law legalizing for-profit speed cameras.
Washburn: “The estimate is probably above $200 million that’s been collected on these things statewide.”
Will: “Do you feel like this is entrapment?”
Washburn: “I absolutely do. I absolutely believe that it’s entrapment.”
The I-TEAM has uncovered state lawmakers profited off these camera companies too.
RedSpeed Georgia and Blue Line Solutions donated lawmakers at least $539,000 from 2019 to 2025.
All of that money is going to lawmakers, public officials, and committees meant to represent you – the taxpayer.
“That is a big loss for the people of Georgia if they’re allowed to stay in any way in Georgia,” said Washburn.
It’s a big loss that’s being felt in the wallets of drivers across the Peach State.
“$100 is not cheap. We all know that. What does it mean to you to have to pay that $100 ticket? It was a lot. I live on Social Security. I’m 70 years old, and it’s hard,” said Morris.
In Burke County, the I-TEAM found that the county commission did not approve the cameras. Some were against them altogether.
In June 2023, The sheriff proposed an ordinance to commission authorizing the use of speed cameras in school zones, but the discussion was tabled over concerns for these cameras.
ANOTHER I-TEAM INVESTIGATION:
- Taxpayers foot more than $250K bill for jail incident
- 2 ex-deputies plead guilty in assault on inmate
- Richmond County jail incident lawsuit moves to federal court
- More Richmond County Sheriff’s Office firings, demotions
- See how many employees RCSO is losing
- Warrants detail jail confrontation between deputies, inmates
- Amid jail arrest, cop already faced DUI charge
- Augusta DA responds to Richmond County jail incident emails
In October 2023, a permit to G-DOT shows the Board of Education moved forward with these cameras without the county commission’s approval.
The speed camera contract was initiated by Sheriff Alfonzo Williams and the Burke County Board of Education, where Sheriff Williams’ sister is the superintendent.
We found crash data from that area from 2017 to 2021. The data reports zero fatalities, and 20 total crashes in four years.
The traffic study shows out of nearly 11,000 drivers going through that area, only 3% would’ve received a violation.
As for Altumint, the private company running Burke County’s speed cameras, the I-TEAM ed them and so far, they have not responded.
Copyright 2025 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
