November 20, 2008
Red-light cameras get green light
With support from city officials, Orlando intersections may have automated cameras by year's end.
If you're going to run a red light in Orlando, get ready to smile for the
camera -- and pay a fine.
Orlando appears to be the largest city in Florida so far to endorse the
tactic of using automated cameras to photograph and ticket drivers who ignore
red lights.
City Council members gave their wholehearted support after being briefed on
the concept Monday. With the council's backing, Mayor Buddy Dyer said he would
bring back a plan for formal approval in the next few months and hopes to have
the cameras operational by the end of the year.
By moving ahead, the city is sidestepping Florida lawmakers who for years
have failed to adopt statewide red-light legislation.
"That the Legislature will not act is unfathomable to me," Commissioner
Patty Sheehan said. "The Legislature won't cooperate, so let's do it
ourselves."
Many of the details still have not been worked out. The cameras cost
$40,000 to $60,000 each or lease for about $5,000 a month, but city officials
don't yet know the full cost. They also will decide later how many
intersections would be covered by cameras and the size of the fine. Expect
problem intersections such as Conroy and Kirkman roads to get the first
cameras.
Here's what they do know: The cameras measure a vehicle's speed as it
approaches an intersection and snaps a photo of the car and its license plate
if it enters the intersection when the light is red. The Orlando-Orange County
Expressway Authority uses a similar system to photograph toll-booth cheats.
The photographs would be reviewed by a police officer, who would determine
whether a ticket should be mailed.
City officials say the problem can't be ignored. Red-light violators cause
at least 100 fatalities and more than 6,300 injuries a year in Florida, police
Chief Michael McCoy said. In Orlando alone, at least 458 crashes resulted from
red-light running last year.
The city tested the cameras' effectiveness in a pilot project that began in
2005 at Hiawassee Road and Raleigh Street. More than 7,500 violations were
photographed in nine months, with 2,946 resulting in warning letters. It would
take 20 motorcycle cops a full year to spot that many red-light violations.
"Traffic enforcement is a very labor-intensive part of our Police
Department," Dyer said. "Red-light cameras would certainly be a way to make it
more efficient."
Crashes at the test intersection diminished by half, and violations dropped
by 43 percent, McCoy said.
"We sent out thousands of warning letters and had absolutely no complaints
from the public," he said. "I think the public is strongly behind this. It's
overdue."
State laws neither allow nor prohibit red-light cameras, but opinions from
the state attorney general say the photos cannot be the basis of a traffic
citation.
For a decade, municipal leaders have pushed lawmakers to specifically
permit the use of red-light cameras, to no avail. Lawmakers most often cite
privacy issues in blocking the cameras' use.
City attorneys say Orlando could issue a ticket that's similar to a parking
or code-enforcement infraction. There would be a monetary fine, but no points
on the violator's license, no jail time and no seizure of property.
The city of Gulf Breeze has been using a similar process for a year, and
Apopka began issuing $125 fines this month.
City Attorney Mayanne Downs said there's a small chance that the city's
action could be found unconstitutional.
"We just need to send a message," Commissioner Phil Diamond said, "and
hopefully people will start driving more carefully."
Mark Schlueb can be reached at mschlueb@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5417.
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Copyright © 2008, Orlando Sentinel
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