North Carolina Has Authorized School Zone Speed Cameras. Is Your Agency Ready to Deploy?

SB 391 (S.L. 2025-47) is already law — effective October 1, 2025. Every city and county in NC is now authorized to activate school zone speed cameras. The procurement window is open today.

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700+
School zone crashes in NC between 2015–2019
284K
Motor vehicle crashes reported in North Carolina in 2023
$39B+
Estimated annual economic cost of traffic crashes to NC residents & taxpayers
Legislative Status · 2026

Where North Carolina Stands

Unlike states still waiting for authorization, North Carolina municipalities can act right now. Three legislative tracks shape today’s opportunity and what comes next.

Already Law
Oct. 2025

SB 391 — School Zone Speed Cameras

All NC cities and counties are authorized to deploy automated speed enforcement in school zones. Each municipality must pass a local ordinance to activate their program.

Constitutional
Revenue Structure

NC Fines & Forfeitures Clause

NC’s constitution requires 90% of gross penal fines to flow directly to local school systems. Elovate’s pricing model is fully aligned with this constitutional requirement.

Pending
2025–2026

HB 982 — Highway & Work Zone Expansion

House Bill 982 (NC Highway Safety Act of 2025) would expand automated enforcement to state-maintained highways and NCDOT work zones.

📍
Equipment certification is underway.

SB 391 requires all speed-measuring systems to be approved by the NC Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission before deployment. Use this window to complete your ordinance, stakeholder alignment, and site selection

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Implementation Pathway

What Happens After the Law Passes

The law is already passed. Here’s where NC agencies stand in the deployment process — and what to prioritize at each stage.

1
Oct. 2025
Law in Effect
SB 391 authorizes all NC municipalities. Equipment certification underway with the NC Criminal Justice Standards Commission.
2
Now
Local Ordinance
Each municipality passes its own ordinance to activate a program. Agencies doing this now will be first in line when equipment is certified.
3
Months 1–3
Vendor Procurement
RFPs issued or cooperative contracts leveraged. Pre-RFP conversations with vendors are legal and standard practice.
4
Months 3–6
Site Selection & Setup
Camera locations identified based on school zone crash history. Equipment installed. Public education campaign launched.
5
Months 6–9
Cameras Go Live
Citations issued. Speeding reduced. 90% of fine revenue flows directly to local schools.

📍 UNC Highway Safety Research Center (HSRC) is the state’s official SB 391 technical assistance provider, building a resource library for municipalities considering programs. Agencies that engage vendors early — before formal RFPs — consistently achieve better program outcomes and faster go-live timelines.

Elovate Enforcement Programs

Solutions for Every North Carolina Use Case

Elovate’s turnkey platform covers every enforcement scenario North Carolina legislation authorizes.

Speed Enforcement Camera

Speed Enforcement

The industry’s most flexible solution, powered by AI-enabled cameras. Proven to reduce fatalities and increase compliance.

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 Red Light Camera

Red-Light Enforcement

Red-light cameras are authorized under NCGS §160A-300.1. Reduce fatal intersection crashes by up to 21%. As NC’s ATE landscape expands, Elovate is ready to support red-light programs statewide.

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 Work Zone Camera

Work Zone Enforcement

HB 982 would open NC highways and NCDOT work zones to automated enforcement. Elovate operates more active statewide work zone programs than any other US vendor. Delaware’s program delivered a 46% crash reduction.

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 School Zone Camera

School Zone Enforcement

SB 391 is live — every NC municipality is authorized today. Elovate delivers a complete turnkey school zone program. Fairfax County saw a 24% drop in school zone speeding. Howard County reduced collisions by 41%.

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Elovate DriveSafe camera system in field
Elovate work zone camera deployment
Elovate red light enforcement camera
Elovate DriveSafe™ Technology

The Technology Behind Every Program

One proven platform — adaptable to every enforcement scenario North Carolina municipalities will need to deploy.

  • AI enabled cameras — high-resolution capture with automated violation detection, built for all weather conditions
  • Scanning LiDAR & tracking radar — the most accurate speed measurement available; used in every Elovate statewide program
  • CiteWeb® violation processing — complete chain of custody and 100% audit trail on every citation
  • 30M+ events processed annually — proven at state scale, not just pilot scale
Why Elovate

The Partner North Carolina Needs

We’ve helped states launch ATE programs from scratch and build programs that last decades.

  • Aligned with North Carolina’s constitutional intent

    We don’t do revenue share. We never have. Our model is built around behavior change, not citation volume.

  • 30+ years supporting municipalities across North America

    From Virginia’s statewide program (live April 2026) to Maryland’s three-decade partnership — our track record is the longest in the industry.

  • True turnkey — cameras, processing, analytics, public education

    One partner, one contract, no gaps and no finger pointing between vendors.

  • More active statewide work zone programs than any other US vendor

    We know what state-scale procurement, operations, and stakeholder management actually look like. When HB 982 opens NC work zones and highways, we are ready to move immediately.

30M+
Photo events processed annually via DriveSafe™
30+
Years partnering with state DOTs and municipalities
#1
Most active statewide work zone programs in the US
100%
Full audit trail on every citation — built in transparency

Ready to start the conversation before the RFP drops?

Pre-RFP vendor conversations are legal and standard practice. Experienced municipalities always start early.

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Action Plan

What Your Municipality Should Do Right Now

Agencies acting now will be operational months ahead of those that wait for the RFP.

1

Pass your local ordinance

SB 391 requires each municipality to enact a local ordinance before activating a program. This is the first legal step — and the one most NC cities haven’t started yet.

2

Align your internal stakeholders

Law enforcement, legal, finance, and communications need to be aligned before procurement begins. The fastest-moving cities are already internally ready.

3

Start your crash data analysis

NCDOT and UNC HSRC can provide school zone crash data for your jurisdiction. Build your site-selection case now so you’re ready to move the moment equipment is certified.

4

Talk to vendors before the RFP

Pre-RFP vendor conversations are legal and standard practice. The best vendors help shape your program requirements — not just respond to them.

Common Questions

What North Carolina Decision-Makers Are Asking

NC’s constitution requires 90% of gross penal fines to flow to local school systems. Municipalities may only retain collection costs of up to 10%. This means revenue-share vendor contracts are structurally incompatible with NC law. Elovate’s flexible fee model fits squarely within the collection cost framework — making it both legally sound and aligned with the program’s true purpose: improving safety, not generating revenue.
Participation is entirely voluntary. SB 391 authorizes — but does not require — cities and counties to implement school zone speed camera programs. Each municipality must independently pass a local ordinance to activate a program and select a certified vendor. This opt-in structure means safety-focused municipalities can move first, build the success stories, and demonstrate efficacy for the broader state.
SB 391 requires all speed-measuring systems to be approved by the NC Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission before deployment. This is separate from ongoing calibration requirements. Elovate’s equipment is in the certification pipeline. Municipalities should use this window to complete ordinance passage, stakeholder alignment, and site selection — so they’re fully ready to begin procurement the moment certification is granted.
Most municipalities will run their own RFPs, though North Carolina may also develop a state cooperative contract vehicle. The typical RFP-to-go-live timeline is 4–9 months. Municipalities with completed stakeholder alignment and crash data analysis can move significantly faster.
Based on current SB 391 requirements, officer review before citation issuance is consistent with the state’s program structure and with most other state programs nationwide. Elovate’s systems support officer review workflows efficiently, with each review taking under 90 seconds per citation. This step protects program integrity and builds lasting community confidence.
When properly implemented, automated enforcement can reduce racial disparities in traffic enforcement — cameras don’t see race, and data driven site selection removes discretionary officer-initiated stops. North Carolina’s legislation requires equity impact assessments. Elovate helps municipalities design equity frameworks that go beyond the statutory minimum.