Santa Monica drivers who commute through Los Angeles will encounter automated speed cameras starting Monday, Oct. 26, when the city activates the first wave of roughly 20 cameras on high-crash corridors.

The cameras won't issue fines right away. Each location starts with a 60-day warning period, meaning drivers caught going 11 mph or more over the posted speed limit will receive a $0 notice in the mail, according to the Los Angeles Department of Transportation. Financial penalties for the first batch of cameras are expected to begin in late December.

Several of the initial camera sites sit on streets Santa Monica residents travel regularly. Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky, who represents Council District 5 on the Westside and Mid-City, said cameras were installed at La Cienega and Pico boulevards, Fairfax Avenue and Clinton Street, La Brea Avenue and First Street, and Melrose and Hayworth avenues, as first reported by Spectrum News.

Additional cameras are confirmed for corridors in Council District 11, including Venice Boulevard between Lincoln Boulevard and Pisani Place, National Boulevard between Butler Avenue and the 405 Freeway, and Vista Del Mar from the city limit to Culver Boulevard, according to the Westside Current. Whether those CD11 sites will be among the first 20 activated Monday or will come online later in the rollout is unclear.

How the fines work

The program only flags drivers going at least 11 mph over the posted speed limit. After the warning period ends, the fine schedule is:

  • 11 to 15 mph over: $50 (first offense in this range still gets a warning)
  • 16 to 25 mph over: $100
  • 26 mph or more over: $200
  • 100 mph or more: $500

The citations are civil penalties, not criminal violations, according to Fox LA. They do not add points to a driver's license or affect insurance rates. Low-income drivers may qualify for fine reductions of 50% to 80% and payment plans under state law.

What Santa Monica drivers should know

The program applies only within Los Angeles city limits. Assembly Bill 645, the 2023 state law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom that created the pilot, authorized Los Angeles, Long Beach, Glendale, San Jose, Oakland and the city and county of San Francisco to operate speed cameras through Jan. 1, 2032, according to the Westside Current. Santa Monica is not on that list.

The cameras capture rear license plates only and do not photograph the driver, according to Assemblywoman Laura Friedman, who authored AB 645. Photos must be deleted within five days if no violation is confirmed. State law bars sharing vehicle-owner information with law enforcement unless a court issues a subpoena, according to Spectrum News.

LADOT General Manager Laura Rubio-Cornejo announced the Oct. 26 date at a news conference outside Kingsley Elementary School in Hollywood, where staff were installing cameras, the Westside Current reported. The city plans to have all 125 cameras running across its 15 council districts by Dec. 31, with each district receiving about eight locations.

In 2025, 290 people died in traffic incidents in Los Angeles, more than the city's homicide total that year, according to LAPD data cited by Spectrum News.

An interactive map of all camera locations is available on the LADOT website at ladot.lacity.gov/speed-safety-system.