According to a report by WINK News on October 21, Charlotte County Commissioners are getting ready to deploy school zone cameras soon. School and child safety is of the utmost concern these days, and any progress is good news.
However, behind the headlines, as the Commission weighs a contract for automated school-zone speed cameras, concerns center on RedSpeed USA, the vendor reportedly under fire elsewhere, yet under consideration here in Port Charlotte.
Why the caution? In 2025, multiple jurisdictions moved away from RedSpeed programs—including Thomasville, GA and Manatee County, FL—and Palm Bay, FL, which suspended its program amid installation and citation concerns, and residents in both communities accused the program of being little more than a "Money Grab".
Local TV reports documented additional departures and suspensions during the year. Given that context, it seems logical that a competitive bid would help ensure the county selects the best-performing and most transparent partner.
Palm Bay’s Troubles: TV Investigation Found Improper Installations
The most high-profile example came from Palm Bay, where an investigation by FOX 35 Orlando reported cameras were installed too close to the roadway in violation of state placement rules—followed by the city removing the cameras. Earlier coverage also highlighted the program’s shutdown after ticketing errors and contractor issues: video report and follow-up video.
There are many qualified vendors who provide school-zone speed enforcement, including: Verra Mobility, Sensys Gatso, Altumint, Jenoptik, Traffic Logix, Blue Line Solutions, Conduent Transportation, and NovoaGlobal. With at least eight options on the market, a formal RFQ/RFP would allow commissioners to compare accuracy, uptime, evidence packages, auditing practices, and pricing models side-by-side, and avoid mistakes made by predecessors.
Another huge sticking point is the commission-per-ticket approach used in many automated enforcement contracts, where a vendor is paid per citation rather than a fixed service fee. Redspeed stands to make $20 from every $100 citation. The more tickets, the more the vendor makes. The more the vendor makes, the more likely the appearance of a conflict of interest and erosion of public trust.
Alternatives include flat-fee contracts, public performance dashboards, independent audits, and clear error-forgiveness /refund policies.
Hopefully RedSpeedUSA is not being "rubberstamped" as a "good idea" without due diligence. Steps normally undertaken before awarding a contract of this nature and size might normally include:
- Issue a transparent RFQ/RFP and evaluate multiple vendors on safety outcomes, accuracy, and cost.
- Require beacon/calendar synchronization, strict placement standards, and third-party calibration records.
- Adopt a contract model that avoids per-ticket incentives, with measurable service-level agreements.
- Publish quarterly public reports on speed reductions, complaint rates, and refunds/voids.
Procedures like this can help to avoid the huge problems that were left behind elsewhere, due to similar contracts.