Fort Walton Beach officials say crashes have dropped to their lowest level during the first full semester after the city began using speed enforcement cameras in school zones.
According to data compiled by the Fort Walton Beach Police Department, 7 crashes were reported in school zones during the first semester of the 25-26 school year, compared to an average of 15.5 crashes during the same period in two previous school years.
The data represents the first meaningful comparison available since Fort Walton launched its school zone camera program in May 2025.
The figures show a decline in crashes; they do not show whether cameras alone caused the reduction.
Crash Numbers
Total school zone crashes fell from 21 in 2023 to just 7 in 2025. Injury crashes also declined from 8 in 2023 to 3 in 2025.
The average number of crashes during the first semester of the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years was 15.5. Compared with that average, the 7 crashes recorded during the first semester of the 2025-26 school year represent a roughly 55% decrease.
Fort Walton Beach Public Information Manager Devon Ravine said the city now has enough post-implementation data to make a meaningful comparison.
“For background, the photo speed enforcement system went live in May 2025, shortly before the end of the 2024-25 school year. So the 2025-26 school year is the first time frame where we could capture meaningful data.”
Crash Locations
The school zones surrounding Choctawahatchee High School and Pryor Middle School recorded the highest number of crashes during all three years examined by the city.
Those locations experienced 11 crashes during the first semester of the 2023-24 school year, 6 during the same period in 2024-25, and 3 during the first semester of the 2025-26 school year.
The largest crash location also showed the largest decline in crashes.
School zones near Bruner Middle School, Silver Sands School, Fort Walton Beach High School, and Edwin’s Elementary School also experienced lower crash totals than in 2023.
The Caveat
Although crash totals continued to decline after camera enforcement began, the trend predates the program.
Crashes were already declining by more than half in 2023 and 2024, suggesting the figures show an association between cameras and lower crash totals, but do not by themselves prove cameras caused the reduction.
Mid Bay News requested comparable school-zone crash data from Niceville, Crestview and Destin.
Niceville provided recent crash records but did not have historical crash data available for comparison. Crestview and Destin, through the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office, had not responded to records requests by publication time.
Fort Walton Beach officials said the Police Department plans to review second-semester crash data and provide additional information once those figures become available.
Mid Bay News will continue to follow the issue as additional data becomes available from Fort Walton Beach and other local governments operating school zone speed camera programs.
