Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday approved a measure that will allow five speed cameras to be implemented along a particularly dangerous stretch of Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu.
This section of PCH was long known as a hot spot for crashes, including scores of fatalities, but it was the deaths of four Pepperdine University students almost a year ago that propelled renewed action to improve safety.
Senate Bill 1297, which Newsom signed into law Friday, builds on ongoing state and local efforts aimed at saving lives along this section of PCH. Sponsored by Sen. Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica), the law includes Malibu in a speed camera pilot program, allowing the city to install up to five automated cameras that will fine speeding drivers.
“The signing of SB 1297 today is a huge win for the safety of Malibu residents and its visitors,” Allen said in a statement. “We know speed cameras can help curb reckless speeding — an issue this beautiful stretch of highway has been plagued with for years — so I am grateful the governor recognizes the important role this equipment will play in saving lives.”
The bill has been awaiting the governor’s signature since late August, when lawmakers passed the measure.
L.A. County Sheriff’s Capt. Jennifer Seetoo was in the Malibu/Lost Hills station when she received the news of the governor’s approval and said her phone has been blowing up with joyous messages from the community since.
“This is not the end-all be-all, you still need that enforcement side, the education and the engineering,” she said. “But this is such a step in the right direction.”
Seetoo had pushed for Malibu to be added to the state’s speed camera pilot program, which was limited to Los Angeles, San Jose, Oakland, Glendale, Long Beach and San Francisco when the measure was approved by the governor last year.
She said she was previously told Malibu would have to wait until the pilot program ended in five years.
Getting SB 1297 approved was a “complete community approach,” she said.
“When elected officials, public safety and the community come together in a united voice, that is when true change is made,” Seetoo said.
On the evening of Oct. 17, 2023, sisters in Pepperdine’s Alpha Phi sorority — Niamh Rolston, Peyton Stewart, Asha Weir and Deslyn Williams — were killed while walking on a sidewalk along PCH. A car traveling in excess of 100 mph slammed into parked cars and the women.
Between 2011 and 2023, 170 fatalities or serious injuries to drivers, passengers, cyclists and pedestrians have taken place on this highway in Malibu, according to a Times analysis.
Malibu officials have said that 60 people have died on the stretch since 2010.
“Over 60 lives lost on one stretch of our iconic Pacific Coast Highway is unacceptable — it’s a call to action,” Newsom said in a statement. “That’s why we’re adding speed cameras to help put an end to reckless driving in Malibu. These new cameras will build on the state’s ongoing safety makeover that includes infrastructure upgrades, increased traffic enforcement, and a new public education campaign.”
The state requires cities in the speed camera pilot to establish clear signage about the program and a public education campaign before enforcement begins.