Meridian council approves Intellisafe contract to tackle school zone speeding

Published 5:00 pm Tuesday, March 3, 2026

Drivers failing to abide by school zone speed limits may soon pay a price after the Meridian City Council on Tuesday voted to approve a contract with Intellisafe to use radar guns at locations throughout the city.

The guns, which are manually operated by a police officer, capture both radar data and video of speeding vehicles which law enforcement can review later to issue citations through the mail.

Police Chief Malachi Sanders said implementation of the radar guns comes after a two-week study by Intellisafe found 100% of drivers exceeding school zone limits near Lamar and 93% exceeding the limit on 23rd Avenue near Meridian High School. In the Lamar study, he said, 95% of drivers were at least 10 miles per hour over the speed limit.

“So 95% of those individuals would have received a citation,” he said. “And of course the citation would be mailed to them.”

Sanders said the technology is intended to improve safety for students and makes things safer for police officers as well. Catching up to speeding drivers and making traffic stops is a safety risk, he said, and the Intellisafe radar guns will let officers do the same work without the risk.

“If he’s pulling out trying to stop every vehicle that’s speeding, that’s virtually impossible,” he said. “With this equipment, we’re not only saving those drivers and those students that go to those schools, but we’re also protecting the officers.

MPD plans to start with four radar guns and specifically focus on school zones in its initial enforcement efforts. Sanders said additional areas seeing high speeding numbers could also be targeted down the line. Joe Payne of Intellisafe said the company is happy to conduct additional traffic studies if there are other areas city officials believe warrant it.

“We’ll be happy to do more studies in different areas,” he said.

With Tuesday’s approval, Sanders said his department plans to put the word out to inform and educate the public about the new tool and what MPD hopes to do before putting the radar guns to work in the community. The goal is to improve public safety, he said, not write tickets.

“Before we do anything, we’re going to educate the public about it,” he said.

Councilwoman Romande Walker said she supports the program and is trying to be more aware of her speed when traveling near Meridian schools.

“I’m for safety. I’m just scared I’m going to get a ticket,” she said.

Those who do receive a citation can handle it through the court system as usual or enter into a diversion program offered through Intellisafe. The program, which costs $230, will take the ticket off the driver’s record.

Councilman Tracy Tims said speeding in school zones is an issue that hits close to home for him as his nephew was fatally struck by a speeding driver outside a school in 1998. He said he is glad to see the council’s vote pass and open up new tools for the police to use.

Councilman Dwayne Davis, who cast the sole vote against the Intellisafe contract, said his main concern is what happens in instances where the registered owner of the vehicle is not the one driving. In that case, he said, who is responsible for the ticket?

Sanders said ruling on those situations is a matter for a judge to decide, but vehicle owners are responsible for who they allow to drive their cars.

“If you allow someone to drive your car, you are ultimately responsible for that,” he said.