Glendale is one of six California cities authorized to test speed safety cameras, and the program is moving from planning into the street. If you drive here regularly, the change is worth understanding. If you have been hurt by a speeding driver in Glendale, it is worth understanding for a very different reason, because the cameras are not going to do the work most people assume they will.
What Glendale is actually installing
In 2023 the California Legislature authorized a speed safety camera pilot program for six designated cities, and Glendale is one of them. According to the City of Glendale’s project page, the city will enforce the speed limit at nine locations, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The sites were selected using Glendale’s Local Road Safety Plan, speeding citation records, collision data, and the city’s geographic and socioeconomic makeup.
The city’s published schedule calls for a 30-day public information campaign while the cameras are calibrated and tested. Once the cameras are activated, the first two months issue warning notices only. After 60 days, the system begins issuing citations. The city notes that all dates are subject to change.
What a camera citation is, and what it is not
The penalties are set by state law and scale with speed:
- $50 for 11 to 15 mph over the posted limit
- $100 for 16 to 25 mph over the posted limit
- $200 for 26 mph or more over the posted limit
- $500 for 100 mph or more
The notice goes to the registered owner of the vehicle, whoever happened to be driving. Under Vehicle Code section 22426(a), a violation recorded by a speed safety system carries only a civil penalty. It does not put a violation point on a driving record, and it does not lead to a license suspension or revocation.
That detail matters more than people expect. A camera notice is a civil penalty, not a traffic conviction, so it is not the kind of record that resolves the question of fault after a collision. An insurance adjuster is not going to hand you a settlement because a camera flagged someone near the scene.
The cameras are probably not recording your crash
This is the part worth reading twice. The Glendale program captures only the rear license plate of a speeding vehicle. It is a speed enforcement tool, not a collision investigation system. The city has also stated that confidential data is stored and encrypted for up to 60 days, and that administrative records regarding citations are kept for up to 120 days.
So if you are injured in a crash near one of the nine sites, do not assume a camera captured it, and do not assume anyone will preserve anything for you. Meanwhile, the footage that actually helps, meaning video from a gas station, a storefront, an apartment building, or a passing dashcam, often overwrites itself in a matter of days.
What to do after a Glendale crash
- Call police from the scene and get the report number before you leave.
- Get medical attention promptly, and describe every symptom, not just the worst one.
- Photograph the vehicles, the roadway, the lane positions, and the posted speed limit signs.
- Collect names and phone numbers for independent witnesses. Their memory fades and their contact information disappears.
- Ask nearby businesses about security cameras within days rather than weeks, and ask in writing.
- Write down your own account the same day, including your speed, the light, and what you saw.
- Be careful with the other driver’s insurer. You are not required to give a recorded statement to the other side before you understand your own injuries.
Speed and fault are two separate questions
Even when speeding is obvious to everyone who saw it, an insurance company pays based on what is documented. Proving that the other driver was going too fast for the conditions usually comes from the police report, witness accounts, scene photographs, vehicle damage patterns, medical records, and sometimes vehicle data or video obtained through the claim or through litigation. Our office prepares and presents that material so the speed question does not come down to one driver’s word against another’s.
If you were hurt in a collision here, our Glendale car accident attorney page explains how we handle these matters, and our car accident practice page covers what to expect from the claims process. Consultations are free, and there are no attorney’s fees unless we win. Case costs are handled separately and are explained in the written fee agreement before you sign anything.
Slow down at the nine camera sites because it is safer, not because the ticket is expensive. And if someone else does not, document the crash yourself. The cameras will not do it for you.