Photo radar cameras catch 30K speeding drivers in Phoenix

As of May 31, more than 30,000 citations and legal notices were mailed out to speedy Phoenix drivers.

June 4, 2026

Phoenix traffic camera. (Provided by Phoenix via Reuters Connect)

Phoenix’s photo enforcement cameras caught thousands of speeding violations over the past two months, according to city officials.

As of May 31, more than 30,000 citations and legal notices were mailed out to speedy drivers, said Lauren Evans, a spokesperson for Phoenix’s Street Transportation Department.

That’s around one every three minutes on average.

That was down from the 51,524 warning letters that lead-footed motorists received during the 30-day grace period of the photo safety program, which launched in late February.

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While the latest citation data showed a major drop compared to the early days of the initiative, Evans said that it’s too early to tell whether it’s having any meaningful impact on road safety.

Some, including Leslie Diaz, a manager at Taqueria Chicali Mexican Grill off Indian School Road and 77th Avenue, have seen far fewer flashes from the camera near her restaurant, indicating that people are driving more cautiously.

Others, however, like Rob Barnett, a sales and service advisor of Big O Tires near Bell Road and 21st Avenue, haven’t really noticed a change in driver behavior and noted that cars are still “flying by this area.”

Phoenix revived the controversial initiative on Feb. 23. It came as Arizona continues to be branded as one of the deadliest states for pedestrians and one of the most dangerous for fatal crashes involving red-light runners.

The city placed nine cameras in fixed locations and rotated another eight in 15-mph school zones during the school year. Many of the roadway segments selected had high rates of deadly and serious car crashes, according to city data.

Police didn’t start ticketing drivers until March 25.

During the month-long warning period, the cameras were triggered more than 70,000 times. Out of those events, though, more than 51,000 prompted warnings, according to John Trierweiler, another street department spokesperson.

“Any other events captured did not meet multiple criteria factors for a warning letter to be sent out,” he explained in an email.

Between April and May, Phoenix police sent out roughly 17,600 speeding tickets, Evans said. Another 13,000 citation notices were also mailed out, namely to rental car companies whose customers were caught speeding.

With kids out of classes for summer break, Phoenix police will use the rotating school-zone cameras in other parts of the city.

Here is where the fixed traffic enforcement cameras are currently located: