LE CLAIRE, Iowa — The City of LeClaire, Iowa, installed speed cameras earlier in 2021. The cameras began issuing warnings on January 5, and started issuing citations on March 5.
One set of cameras is located on Interstate 80, within the city limits of LeClaire. The second set of cameras is west of I-80 on US-67, also known as Cody Road, by the Green Gables Marina.
The Claim:
Some social media posts claim the City of LeClaire is ticketing people who drive even one mile per hour over the speed limit.
Is the City of LeClaire doing that? Here is what we found.
Our Sources: WQAD requested data from the City of LeClaire under the Freedom of Information Act for tickets issued by the cameras in both locations between March 5, 2021 and May 31, 2021.
The City of LeClaire provided News 8 with the table below, which confirms anyone caught speeding one mile per hour over the posted speed limit would face a $25 fine.
Between March 5 and May 31, the City of LeClaire issued 24,572 speeding tickets from the cameras, according to the records request.
From those tickets, the City of LeClaire has brought in $225,147.02. The City of LeClaire has not designated how that money will be spent, according to the request.
According to the records we received from the City of LeClaire, the city issued citations between March 5 and May 31 in six different speed categories. The number of drivers cited in each category is listed below.
Five drivers were ticketed for exceeding the speed limit by more than 30 miles per hour by the cameras.
23 drivers were ticketed for driving 25 to 30 miles per hour over the posted speed limit.
209 drivers were ticketed for driving 21 to 25 miles per hour over the speed limit.
19,128 drivers were ticketed for driving 11 to 20 miles per hour over the posted speed limit.
5,207 drivers were ticketed for driving six to 10 miles per hour over the posted speed limit.
The City of LeClaire did not ticket anyone for driving one to five miles per hour over the speed limit between March 5, 2021 and May 31, 2021.
The Answer:
So, we can verify that, yes, the City of LeClaire does have a fine associated with driving one mile per hour over the speed limit. But in the first three months that the cameras were active and issuing citations, the city did not fine any drivers for doing so.