Speed cameras were already flashing across Los Angeles on Sunday, Oct. 25, one day before the city's automated enforcement program officially goes live.

Video captured by RMG News early Sunday morning showed cameras firing as vehicles passed through Fairfax, Hollywood and East Hollywood, KTLA reported. No public explanation from LADOT appeared in available reports about why the cameras were active before the scheduled Monday, Oct. 26, launch date.

The city's Speed Safety Systems Program is set to begin Monday with cameras going live at roughly two dozen locations, according to KTLA. All 125 cameras are expected to be operational by the end of 2026, according to the Los Angeles Department of Transportation.

Drivers will not face fines right away. Each camera system carries a 60-day warning period, during which speeders caught going 11 mph or more above the posted limit will receive written warnings instead of citations, LADOT said.

Once the warning period ends, fines kick in on a sliding scale:

  • 11 to 15 mph over the limit: $50
  • 16 to 25 mph over: $100
  • 26 mph or more over: $200
  • 100 mph or more: $500

Even after warnings expire, a first violation for going 11 to 15 mph over the limit still results in a warning, according to Westside Current. Subsequent violations in that range carry the $50 fine.

The cameras read rear license plates and send the data to LADOT's Parking Enforcement and Traffic Control division for review. State law bars sharing that information with other law enforcement agencies unless a court-issued subpoena requires it.

LADOT General Manager Laura Rubio-Cornejo announced the Oct. 26 activation date at an Oct. 1 news conference outside Kingsley Elementary School in Hollywood, where department staff were installing cameras, Spectrum News 1 reported.

Councilman Hugo Soto-Martinez, who represents Hollywood, called the cameras "the biggest advancement in Los Angeles traffic safety in decades" at the Oct. 1 event, according to Streetsblog LA. He noted that traffic deaths have outnumbered homicides in Los Angeles for three consecutive years.

In 2025, 290 people died in traffic incidents in the city, according to LAPD data cited by Spectrum News 1. LADOT data shows about one in five fatal crashes in 2024 was attributed to speeding.

The program is authorized under California Assembly Bill 645 (AB 645), signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in October 2023. The law allows Los Angeles, Long Beach, Glendale, San Jose, Oakland and San Francisco to run speed-camera pilots through Jan. 1, 2032.

Camera locations were selected using crash history, speeding data and proximity to schools, senior centers and high-injury corridors across all 15 council districts. Most districts will receive eight cameras, with districts 4, 6, 8, 9 and 10 each getting one additional unit.

Drivers can view an interactive map of all 125 planned camera locations on LADOT's website.