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...

This post deals with the Red Light Camera statute, s. 316.0083, Fla. Stat., better known as the Mark Wandall Traffic Safety Program Act. Mark Wandall was a victim of a red light runner. His tragic story has since been manipulated by our legislators and local representatives into a cash grab whereby safety is no longer the goal. In fact, safety has been completely overlooked and abandoned, evidenced by the discovery that yellow light times have been trimmed to dangerous levels in order to boost the profits from red light cameras. But I digress... One of the peculiarities of the statute is the decision to cite the first named owner on the registration of a vehicle when there are multiple owners. Since the driver of the car is never viewed by the cameras (a strange requirement of the law) it just puts blame on the owner of the vehicle. If there is more than one owner the first named gets cited. There is no explanation for why the statute does this except the argument by the state that i...

Lately, there has been some push-back on red light cameras in Florida. Two high ranking legislators want Florida to join 13 other states that ban camera enforcement. This comes after a Tampa Television News channel discovered that the state had, without comment, sneakily reduced the yellow light times to the minimum allowed by a new modified law. (See Noah Pransky).  Well get ready. These camera companies are about to out spend everyone to convince legislators to keep the cameras. They call it "educating" the representatives. It is actually large donations to re-election campaign funds.  The stronger the resistance the stronger the municipalities will argue for the cameras to stay. Why not - they are making millions. That would not be so bad if the municipalities were in business. They aren't - they represent us. Apparently, they believe we want them to pick our pockets.  90% of red light cameras come from cars that miss the light by less than half a second. A fraction...

I unfortunately cannot answer all questions regarding Red Light Camera questions over the phone. Instead I'll ask everyone to ask the questions below in the comments' section. This way those with similar questions may find their question already answered.  Thank you.

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...

Year In Review, Looking Forward December 31, 2012 Red Light Cameras The Red Light Camera debacle continues in the state of Florida. Spurned on by greed (not "safety") the law is full of problems. Unfortunately, in our society it is money that sways justice rather than justice itself. The noble cause of freedom has long ago disappeared from the minds of our elected "representatives" (joke). The Red Light Camera contracts that were signed before any state law was enacted were based on the idea that a single municipality could derive revenue by creating it's own traffic laws within it's boundaries. The Fifth District Court of Appeal rightfully struck down this tack by the cities as being in violation of the "uniform" traffic law requirement. This reasoned decision was not enough for the cities that had jumped the gun with the implementation of the red light cameras. They have now asked the Florida Supreme Court to review the Fifth District...

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 .

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...

Does the City of Orlando know what the law requires for Red Light Cameras? A look at the picture below would indicate to me that they do not. Orlando's signs are wrong.  Do you know why? Florida is required to have "uniform" traffic laws. That was the curse that brought down the red light cameras before the state passed a unifying law regarding the cameras. Uniformity requires that all laws regarding the red light cameras be the same throughout the state. This also includes the way in which these laws are enforced. Unfortunately, for Orlando, they have not caught up to that "uniformity" thing. Eric J Dirga

The City of Orlando likes to tout how red light cameras are all about safety.  Let's see how they define safety... http://www.cityoforlando.net/economic/codeenforcement/orlando_stops/numbers.htm . Apparently, safety is about money, or it is determined by the amount of money brought in.  Notice how they do not mention the number of accidents that occurred or if that amount has been reduced. This is how government fleeces our pockets under the guise of "safety." Eric J Dirga

Does this sign meet the correct specifications of the Florida DOT? Is this sign  not in conformity to the Florida Department of Transportation [DOT] specifications? According to the DOT, all red light camera signs that notify drivers of a red light camera at the oncoming intersection that permits right turns on red must have a sign located below the "Photo Enforced" sign that indicates "INCLUDES RIGHT TURN." Orlando started their "Orlando Stops" campaign before the independent Red Light Camera enforcement was declared unconstitutional.  After that the legislature created a new statute that made red light camera enforcement uniform statewide.  This statute had requirements on how the cameras should be placed, maintained, etc.  However, this was after Orlando and other cities had already "placed" their cameras.  In fact, the DOT came up with specifications for these cameras only in April of 2011. Compare the sign above with the specific...

Notice how far from the corner this sign is. We have been told that red light cameras are all about safety.  It's a great pitch - who is against "safety?" The problem is that it just does not add up to be about saving lives and injuries because... ...If they wanted to do that there are several inexpensive things they could do that would make these intersections safer, albeit, less profitable. 1. Extend the length of the duration of the yellow light.      They should have tried this before they spent million$ installing these cameras. 2. Place Red Light Camera signs at the corners of the intersection.      Currently they place a sign some distance away from the intersection advising people that the intersection has a camera. However, the overwhelming number of citations issued are for "right on red" turns.   If this practice is so dangerous (turning right on red) why not place another sign at the corner where the right on red turns ar...