More than 40 female traffic cops are being trained to use mobile speed cameras on the streets and avenues of the metropolitan area and the highways and byways of Jalisco.
These officers are usually deployed on the nightly anti-drunk driving operations and are colloquially referred to as “toritas.”
The female cops are receiving instruction in how to set up and calibrate the speed cameras and install temporary signage for motorists. Under new regulations, motorists must be given prior warning that they are approaching a speed camera. The signs must be placed at least one kilometer ahead of the cameras.
Traffic fines for motorists caught on camera driving over the speed limit have been suspended for the past month while the Jalisco Traffic Department (Semov) implements its new system. Fines were to have reinitiated on May 2 but this deadline has been extended for another two weeks, until May 15.
The new system is also supposed to feature a web portal where motorists can review their fines and make online payments. This has yet to be launched.
Avenues in Guadalajara where new speeding cameras will be installed include the Periférico, López Mateos Sur, Lázaro Cárdenas, Solidaridad, Mariano Otero, Prolongación Colón, Patria and Vallarta.
In addition, two of the cameras will also record images of drivers flaunting traffic laws by not using seat belts, talking on their cellphones, texting, running red lights or making illegal turns. However, Semov Director Servando Sepulveda says fines will not be levied for these infractions while the two cameras are in a “testing phase.”