Southbound I-380 drivers beware: New camera starts issuing tickets tonight

Another set of cameras will be watching for speeders on Interstate 380 starting this weekend.

Tickets will be issued starting at 12:01 a.m. Saturday for speeders on southbound I-380 at J Avenue, just before the freeway twists through downtown. Other cameras have monitored northbound traffic has been watched for a few months, at Diagonal Drive and near H Avenue.

Those cameras accounted for more than 16,000 tickets from June to September.

The speed limit in all three areas is 55 mph. But the slowest motorists ticketed during that time frame were going 67 mph, according to camera statistics acquired through the Freedom of Information Act.

Police will not confirm the 12 mph tolerance on the stationary I-380 cameras, but said there is some leeway. They caution that it can be changed at any time.

“If this was all about revenue, that tolerance would be low, and it's not,” Police Chief Greg Graham said in August. “It's high. It's probably too high.”

The tolerance appears to be at 6 mph for 35 mph zones at monitored intersections.

Speeding fines from the cameras range from $25 to $500.