Removing Red Light Traffic Cameras May Soon Come to a City Near You
Less than a year ago, our Yau Law Firm blog mentioned that red light traffic cameras were being installed in various intersections across Jacksonville. Thanks to these cameras, hundreds of Jacksonville residents received traffic citations for allegedly failing to stop at red lights. Many of these tickets are in fact defective and improperly issued. Some received these citations, but in fact never drove the vehicle. Others received the citations but did not actually run the red light. In fact, just recently, we had a client whose non-profit corporation was named as the defendant driver on the red light traffic ticket. With so many defective tickets issued on a monthly basis, is there any reason to keep these cameras?
St. Petersburg doesn’t think so. On March 6, 2014, the city council voted to remove the red light cameras from its intersections by September 30, 2014. Part of the problem: the city needs to issue refunds to hundreds of drivers who received tickets for passing yellow lights at traffic signals, and it’s unclear how this will occur given that the city is only able to keep $21 dollars of the $158 ticket. The rest of the money is sent to the state and the camera operators. Mayor Rick Kriseman also indicated that having the traffic cameras is unprofitable to St. Petersburg (somehow, we’re not entirely sympathetic with this notion).
Joining the trend, Cocoa Beach also recently voted 2-3 to eventually remove the red light cameras installed in its intersections. Despite statistics showing less crashes and citations, Cocoa Beach Mayor Dave Netterstrom argues that the cameras “don’t fit [the] brand and image in regards to welcoming visitors to [the] town.”
Although it’s not certain whether Jacksonville will ever remove their red light traffic cameras, one thing is for sure: we can tell you whether your ticket can be dismissed in court. If you received a red light traffic ticket or any other ticket, give us a call today to find out whether your ticket can be dismissed entirely.
