Malibu's PCH speed safety system nears completion as city prepares motorists for new cameras

By Hayley Mattson · Fri Aug 21 2026

Years of fatalities and the deaths of four Pepperdine students led to a community push for change; warnings are expected to begin in late September before enforcement starts in November

Nearly three years after the deaths of four Pepperdine University students galvanized Malibu around the dangers of Pacific Coast Highway, the city is nearing completion of an automated speed enforcement system that officials hope will help prevent another family from experiencing the same loss.

The City of Malibu announced Aug. 18 that construction of its PCH Speed Safety System is nearing completion as the city begins an education and outreach campaign ahead of the cameras' activation.

The system will eventually use up to 10 cameras at five locations along Malibu's 21-mile stretch of PCH to identify vehicles traveling at least 11 mph above the posted speed limit. The cameras were authorized under Senate Bill 1297, legislation authored by state Sen. Ben Allen and signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sept. 27, 2024.

Their installation marks the latest step in a much broader effort to change a highway that has claimed dozens of lives and, for years, prompted residents, victims' families and public officials to demand stronger safety measures.

“Our goal is to improve safety for everyone who uses Pacific Coast Highway, whether they are driving, biking, walking, visiting, or commuting through Malibu,” Mayor Bruce Silverstein said in a statement. “We have seen unimaginable tragedy on Pacific Coast Highway caused by excessive speeding, and we must do everything we can to prevent future loss of life.”

More than 60 people have been killed in traffic collisions along Malibu's 21 miles of PCH since 2010. In 2023 alone, the city reported 220 crashes resulting in 93 injuries and seven deaths.

For Malibu residents, however, the dangers of PCH and the calls to make it safer long predate the speed camera program.

The highway serves simultaneously as Malibu's primary transportation corridor and a major state route carrying residents, commuters and millions of visitors each year. Homes, businesses, restaurants, schools and beach access points sit alongside a roadway where traffic can move at highway speeds. Over the years, pedestrians, cyclists, motorists and passengers have all been among those killed.

One of the most widely remembered victims was 13-year-old Emily Shane, who was killed April 3, 2010, while walking along PCH near Heathercliff Road.

Her death led her family to become prominent advocates for safer driving and greater awareness of the dangers of PCH. Her father, filmmaker Michel Shane, later produced the documentary 21 Miles in Malibu, which examines the highway's history of fatal crashes and the families left behind. Shane continues his advocacy today and writes the biweekly Driving Change column for The Malibu Times, focusing on PCH safety, accountability and efforts to prevent further tragedies.

More than 13 years after Emily's death, another tragedy became a defining moment in Malibu's push for sweeping changes to the highway.

On the evening of Oct. 17, 2023, Pepperdine University seniors Niamh Rolston, Peyton Stewart, Asha Weir and Deslyn Williams were killed in a crash along PCH.

The four women were standing near parked vehicles in the 21600 block of PCH when a westbound vehicle lost control, struck parked vehicles and ultimately killed the students.

Rolston, Stewart, Weir and Williams were all seniors at Pepperdine's Seaver College, members of the Alpha Phi sorority and preparing to graduate with the Class of 2024. Pepperdine later awarded their degrees posthumously.

Their deaths sent shock waves through Pepperdine and the Malibu community, and in the weeks that followed, grief and outrage grew into a highly visible demand for change along PCH.

About a month after the tragedy, a memorial of white-painted tires began taking shape along PCH at Webb Way. Created through a community safety effort involving Streets Are For Everyone (SAFE), the Emily Shane Foundation, safety advocates, law enforcement and the City of Malibu, the first Ghost Tires honored the four Pepperdine students whose deaths had shaken the community.

The memorial soon expanded, with additional white tires bearing the names of people who had been killed along Malibu's 21-mile stretch of PCH since 2010. Among them was Emily Shane.

The Ghost Tire Memorial became more than a roadside tribute. Each white tire represented a person — a daughter or son, parent, friend, student or neighbor — whose life had ended on the highway. Together, the tires created a stark visual representation of the human toll behind PCH's collision statistics and the urgency felt by those demanding safer conditions.

The memorial also became a gathering place for victims' families, Pepperdine students, residents, elected officials, law enforcement and traffic-safety advocates. As additional lives were lost, additional tires were added. In February 2024, the 59th Ghost Tire was installed in memory of Jose Alfonso De Lira Piedra, 32, who was killed in a motorcycle collision on PCH on Christmas Eve 2023.

The movement surrounding the memorial helped keep PCH safety at the forefront of public discussion. Community members packed meetings, attended press conferences and vigils, and called on local and state officials for changes in enforcement, education and roadway design.

For Michel Shane, whose daughter Emily had been killed on the same highway more than a decade earlier, the deaths of the four Pepperdine students brought renewed urgency to a fight he had already been waging for years. Shane has described their deaths as a rallying cry that mobilized Malibu in a way previous tragedies had not.

The Ghost Tires became the physical symbol of that movement — honoring those already lost while confronting drivers passing them with the consequences of dangerous driving on PCH.

Tragedy leads to legislative action

The community pressure that followed the October 2023 tragedy soon moved from memorials and public demonstrations toward government action.

Malibu declared a PCH safety emergency and joined with state and county elected officials, Caltrans, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, California Highway Patrol and community organizations in seeking immediate and long-term changes.

One of those changes required Sacramento's approval.

California law did not simply allow Malibu to install automated speed cameras on PCH, a state highway. Allen introduced SB 1297 to specifically authorize a speed safety pilot program along Malibu's portion of the highway.

The legislation ultimately authorized five speed safety systems along the 21-mile corridor. Newsom signed SB 1297 into law on Sept. 27, 2024.

At the time, Allen said enforcement needed to work alongside education and engineering improvements to prevent future deaths.

“Too many people have died on this stretch of roadway that is so vital for thousands of daily commuters and Malibu's 15 million annual visitors,” Allen said when the legislation was signed. “Enforcement, alongside education and engineering improvements, will be critical in preventing future tragedies.”

The city subsequently developed the Speed Safety System Use Policy and Impact Report required by state law, conducted public outreach and received City Council approval in August 2025 before moving ahead with procurement and installation.

The city identified five high-risk areas for the systems: Decker Canyon; between Guernsey Avenue and Morning View Drive; Latigo Canyon; between Carbon Beach Terrace and Carbon Canyon; and Tuna Canyon. The locations were selected based on factors including speed-related collisions and fatalities.

How the cameras will work

Unlike traditional traffic enforcement, the Speed Safety System does not require an officer to be positioned along the highway when a violation occurs.

The system uses lidar technology and camera equipment to detect vehicles traveling at least 11 mph above the posted speed limit. When a qualifying violation is detected, the system captures an image of the vehicle's rear license plate. The violation is then reviewed and processed before a citation is issued.

According to the city, the cameras are not intended to continuously record traffic. Recording begins only when a qualifying speeding violation is detected.

State law allows Malibu to operate up to five automated speed enforcement systems with a total of 10 cameras within city limits.

The program is intended to change driver behavior, particularly excessive speeding, rather than replace the work of LASD and CHP. It is one part of what Malibu has called an “all of the above” approach to PCH safety combining enforcement, engineering improvements, legislation and public education.

Other measures have included increased LASD enforcement, contracted CHP patrols, Caltrans improvements, PCH signal synchronization and the statewide “Go Safely PCH” public awareness campaign.

The city reports that injury collisions have declined 22 percent while citations have increased 59 percent, and Caltrans has implemented approximately $4.2 million in safety upgrades along the corridor.

Earlier this month, the City Council decided not to move forward with proposed quick-build roundabouts at El Matador Beach Road and Encinal Canyon Road, but officials said the city would continue pursuing other PCH safety measures, including the Speed Safety System.

Warnings will come before fines

Although construction is nearing completion, drivers will not begin receiving fines as soon as the cameras are activated.

The first phase is public education and outreach, which began Aug. 18 and will continue through September. During that period, the city plans to provide residents, commuters and visitors with information about where the systems are located, how they work, when they will become active and what constitutes a violation.

A 60-day warning period is expected to begin in late September. Motorists who trigger the system during the warning period will receive warnings rather than financial penalties.

Full enforcement is expected to begin in late November.

Once enforcement begins, violations will be treated as civil penalties. They will not add points to a driver's license or result in insurance penalties.

Under the program approved by the city, civil penalties increase according to how far a vehicle exceeds the posted speed limit, beginning at $50 for traveling 11 to 15 mph over the limit.

Revenue generated by the program will first be used to recover the costs of equipment, staffing and operation. Remaining revenue may then be used for additional traffic-calming measures on PCH in coordination with Caltrans.

Privacy and accountability

As Malibu moves closer to enforcement, city officials have also sought to address concerns about privacy and the use of data collected by the automated system.

Officials say the cameras are not designed to operate as general surveillance devices. Non-violation data will be deleted immediately, according to the city, while stored violation records will be destroyed within 60 days after a case is resolved. The city says data collected through the system will not be shared with other government agencies.

The program also includes an appeals process and provisions intended to reduce the financial burden on qualifying low-income residents.

The Public Safety Commission is expected to receive regular performance updates, giving commissioners and the public an opportunity to review whether the cameras are reducing speeding and improving safety.

The City Council received another update on implementation of the Speed Safety System at its Aug. 10 meeting as construction moved toward completion.

Nearly three years after the four Pepperdine students were killed, the cameras represent one of the most tangible results of the movement for change that followed their deaths.

But that movement did not begin in October 2023. The cameras also arrive after years of advocacy from families who lost loved ones on PCH before the Pepperdine tragedy and from residents who have long argued that the death toll on Malibu's primary roadway could not be accepted as inevitable.

The Ghost Tires that appeared after the deaths of Niamh Rolston, Peyton Stewart, Asha Weir and Deslyn Williams brought that history of loss together in one place, making visible both the lives already lost and the growing demand that something change.

Now, as Malibu prepares to move from warnings to enforcement, city officials hope the cameras will help prevent additional names from being added to that memorial.

“This program honors those we have lost, protects those who use this roadway today, and encourages safer driving behaviors that save lives,” Silverstein said.