As many South Floridians can attest to, red light cameras located at intersections throughout the region have produced thousands of citations for everything from blatantly blowing a red light to slowly rolling through a right turn. If you haven’t been ticketed, you probably know someone who has.
Recently, multiple legal challenges have called the constitutionality of the program into question, leading some cities and municipalities to abandon it altogether, including Boca Raton and Pembroke Pines.
Legislators are now contemplating a statewide repeal of the program according to proposed legislation in the Florida Senate (SB168), that would take effect in July of 2019.
In addition, surprising crash data has been released involving intersections where these cameras are located, in the hopes of deterring these moving violations. The data allegedly shows that crashes and injuries increased at camera intersections in the year after the cameras were installed. Some of these increases were quite sizeable, including a 206% increase in motor vehicle accidents at certain camera intersections in Boynton Beach, and an 85% increase in Sunrise.
Previous studies reflected conventional wisdom that these cameras would help slow the amount of crashes at certain intersections, except for an uptick of rear-end collisions because, ironically, more drivers were slamming on their brakes to avoid being ticketed.
However, the latest study by the Florida Department of Highway Safety found a statewide increase of intersectional accidents of almost 15%, as well as an increase in “incapacitating injures” (ones that require an injured party to be transported from the scene) increased by almost 30%.
The advent of these red light cameras at intersections around the state have certainly caused a stir, but in light of this data, they may only be around for a limited time between the proposed legislation and the numerous legal challenges going on throughout the state. Whether or not they stay, one should always take every precaution possible when operating a motor vehicle, especially when travelling through busy intersections, where some of the most dangerous types of collisions can occur.
For further discussion on this topic or any other, feel free to contact the Schulman Law Group at (954) 349-3300 or at info@www.schulaw.com
