CHATHAM COUNTY, Ga. (WSAV) — The Chatham County Police Department (CCPD) says its school zone cameras have reduced speeding. CCPD says in the first six weeks, speeding dropped by 86%.

“Our one goal when we installed these cameras was to slow down the thousands of people who speed through school zones every day,” Chief Jeff Hadley said. “The impact of this program is clear. Our school zones are now safer for children because we have drastically reduced the number of speeders. We expect the number to continue to decrease in the weeks ahead.”

The cameras were active around Georgetown K-8, May Howard Elementary, Coastal Middle and Marshpoint Elementary schools and St. Andrews School zones.

CCPD announced the move in late June and the cameras were activated on Aug. 16 — the first day of school. During that time, speeding was cut by 63%, police say. Police issued warnings for 30 days and ticked more than 1,500 in the subsequent five days.

“These numbers show that most drivers clearly want to do the right thing and slow down in a school zone,” Hadley says. “When children are crossing the street or walking or biking to school, the motorists driving through the school zone have a responsibility to be as cautious as possible. Clearly, the huge reduction in speeding we’ve seen shows most drivers agree.”