Florida Traffic Law

By now we are all aware of Red Light Cameras. They were implemented under the guise of "Safety." We have heard about them, we have seen them, and some of us have been caught by them. It, like most politics of today, has divided us. You have the people that are protesting with signs against them and you have the opinion letter writers posting their thoughts for them in local papers. The question isn't whether they are effective - they are, to the tune of millions of dollars being sucked out of our local economies and being sent to companies located in New York or Arizona. The real question is why they are so effective. Do That Many People Really Run Red Lights With the astronomical revenue being generated by Red Light Cameras it is easy to protest and easy to applaud them. The protesters see the cameras as governmental hands reaching into our pockets and taking our money. The pro-camera types look at the numbers generated and think everyone of those cited deserve it...

March 4, 2013 I have been fighting red light camera tickets since 2010. Over the last two years it has become clear that there some very disturbing things going on with the red light camera cases and specifically the companies that have installed them. Before I go too far into this post I want to make sure my position is clear. Running red lights is one of the most hazardous things a person can do. The main cause for running a red light is speed - not texting or any other politically correct target of the day - it is speed. When a person drives over the speed limit they all think the amber light has been shortened to accommodate more camera tickets. It's not the time of the amber, it is the speed of the vehicle. Additionally, the cities and counties that are fighting to push these tickets through are just trying to do what is right, what they believe is their job to do. They are doing nothing wrong in the prosecution of these cases. However, they need to start looking at w...

Orlando's "Stops" program. A Red Light Camera program still using unauthorized signage. Red Light Cameras are here to stay. If you don't like that it's too bad - get use to them. There is way too much money coming from them (because people continue to run them) for any municipality to give them up. Upset, disgusted, mad? Good. Now let's talk about fixing the problems faced by the municipalities. When these Red Light Camera companies came to Florida to peddle their wares it was like a dream come true for the cities and towns under the budget crunch from the "great recession." The Red Light Camera companies came to them promising them millions so it was no surprise that the bureaucrats, politicians, and accountants looked past all the legalities straight to the bottom line. Before anyone thought to look towards consequences we had major cities contracting with these companies to throw up the first of many red light cameras.  All seemed well a...

City of Orlando Red Light Camera intersection. Orange County Red Light Camera Contract What they don't want you to know... Orange County and American Traffic Solutions [ATS] have a contractual relationship involving the Red Light Cameras that we see popping up everywhere (for Orange County, it only involves those cameras in Orange County and outside of the cities). We have been told by our leaders (a/k/a politicians) that these cameras are for "our" safety. The reality is that the contract between Orange County and ATS is very lucrative for both parties. Read the contract here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/106485947 Eric J Dirga More information at Eric J Dirga, PA website .

Plywood covers damage to home. Apparently, Drew Dyer drove his Infinity into someone's house early Sunday morning . His father the mayor said "Teenage driving, I guess… It's every parent's nightmare," on Tuesday morning during a brief news conference where he said his son did everything right following the incident.  Orlando Police Chief Paul Rooney, the Chief of Orlando Police Department, responded to the scene after "spending the evening patrolling radio traffic and monitoring downtown crowds pouring out of clubs." Mayor Dyer said the Orlando Police Department's Police Chief, the number one top officer, that his presence was not special treatment for his son. Now let's look at the law. 316.061 Crashes involving damage to vehicle or property.— (1) The driver of any vehicle involved in a crash resulting only in damage to a vehicle or other property which is driven or attended by any person shall immediately stop such vehicle at the scene o...

Recently, the Orange County (Florida) government announced that they will increase the number of Red Light Cameras from 10 to 50 in the near future. (See Orlando Sentinel ). The argument FOR these cameras is that it discourages red light running and, thus, increases safety. The County better hope not. The installation costs are in the millions and the lease rate is $4,750.00 per month, per camera. These cameras cost the municipality $4,750.00 per month. They are bilking us for way more. The Orlando Sentinel, no longer an objective newspaper - rather a political rag, has taken sides in this issue and is squarely behind the installation and the bilking of Orange County residents and visitors for money. They tout that "[t]he move is a dramatic expansion from the 10 cameras already mounted at some of the county's more crash-prone thoroughfares ." I dare them to look at the crash statistics for these intersections and those without cameras. Yes, with the expansion, ev...

We have been fighting the Red Light Camera tickets here in Orlando, Florida, over the past year and we have been very successful.  When I write "we" I am referring to the 3-5 attorneys in this area that have made a concerted effort to defeat these citations. After repeated hearings and the attempts by the the municipalities to have their evidence conform to the rules it is slowly but surely becoming evident that the method of "conforming" to the rules may not be so genuine.  I'm referring here to the companies that install the red light cameras and must produce the evidence needed to prove the infraction (not the municipalities themselves). When theses companies have run up to an evidentiary obstacle in one case it seems as if they go back on all pending cases and try to "conform" their evidence to overcome the obstacle.  This has created some interesting results that, as of right now, we have not had to use against them.  It is going to be interesti...