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Escambia Approves Red Light Cameras
November 5, 2010
Escambia County has approved the installation of red light cameras that could add up to $3 million per year to the county’s coffers.
The Escambia County Commission unanimously approved a red light camera ordinance Thursday night.
It could be up to one year before the red light cameras are installed at intersections chosen by crash data.
The Florida Legislature approved the use of red light cameras earlier this year, with the law taking effect on July 1.
The automated cameras snap a photo of the car and license plate of alleged red light runners, and the driver receives a $158 citation in the mail — along with a photo of the violation. Of the $158 fine, Escambia County would retain $75. With 20 camera locations, Escambia County would earn as estimated $2-3 million per year.
The Sheriff’s Department would be responsible for providing trained traffic enforcement officer to review the photos and other evidence prior to a citation being issued. A portion of the county’s revenue would be transferred to the sheriff for increased personnel costs.
A citation will not go on a driver’s record if the fine is paid.
The county will give the county 30 days notice of the red light camera locations prior to their installation.
Comments
56 Responses to “Escambia Approves Red Light Cameras”
Our bad driving habits have been ignored for years. With so many additional means of distraction – mobile phones, tv’s in the back seat, GPS units – it’s a wonder there aren’t more accidents than there are.
Finally something to prevent the reckless red light runners from continuing to break the law. I see no problem in generating money for the city and freeing up time for our police officers to focus on high crimes. Escambia gets something right!
REGARDING:
“They want more and more new laws”
This isn’t about new laws. It is about ways of enforcing existing laws and if the new way is a good idea or not.
David for outlawing new laws,
including a new law to outlaw new laws.
which would then be illegal
so you could do it but then you couldn’t do it so you could do it….
This will be a good thing for Escambia- I have long been a fan of red light cameras and am happy that they are coming to us!
The majority of people always say the same things about new laws. “It’s about time” they say. “This will make us safer”, they say. “The only people who are against this new law are the ones who have something to fear”, they say.
The funny part is that these same people never stop saying the same thing. It doesn’t matter how many new laws get passed, or how many years go by. They want more and more new laws and the whole time the government is making money, businesses are making money, and people, just being human beings and trying to get by get caught up in these laws and it costs them money.
People will still die, people will still get in wrecks, drink and drive, do drugs, etc, because there will always be people that do these things. There is no law or camera or ticket that will stop these behaviors and they never have. If laws and camera’s worked we wouldn’t have any crime, no accidental deaths and we wouldn’t be reading about such.
Finally Escambia is getting on board with modern day law enforcement. I know these cameras will cut down on accidents and hopefully will free up officers to attend to other crimes.
REGARDING:
“To those who really think its a neat idea,(more gov’t control and invasion} I will laugh at you when your bedroom door is kicked in and you are fined say $158.00 for – - – past the allowed amount of time||”
As they said on the Broxson ruling, there is no expectation of privacy on public rights of way—unlike your bedroom. There IS a difference.
David with a timer
REGARDING:
“All of you who think this is a great thing obviously don’t drive around Pensacola much. I drive around it at all hours of morn & night. I see the signals that go from green to red in RECORD time. I am sitting at lights at intersections at 4:am without another car in sight in any direction. Why is my light red then?”
You’ve actually pointed out the lights DON’T change in record time. The reason you are at a red light at all is that it takes a while to cycle from green to red in the other direction, and then probably a two second wait until your side is green. Quite often if it seems the light changed instantly, it is because we are paying attention elsewhere and don’t notice the change to amber then red.
This is just a guess, but it is based on plenty of driving in Pensacola and counting how long a light stays green after the last car passes the sensor, how long it takes to turn green on my side the same way. (Need somethig to do to occupy my mind while waiting for a change.)
David for smarter lights and attentive drivers
Good news! Cameras have been shown to be a great way to cut down on red light runners, making the streets safer for everyone. Bad news for the criminals who endanger everyone else, great news for those who want safety.
All of you who think this is a great thing obviously don’t drive around Pensacola much. I drive around it at all hours of morn & night. I see the signals that go from green to red in RECORD time. I am sitting at lights at intersections at 4:am without another car in sight in any direction. Why is my light red then? Reduce driver frustration and you reduce violations. But this is about revenue, not the safe flow of traffic. To those who really think its a neat idea,(more gov’t control and invasion} I will laugh at you when your bedroom door is kicked in and you are fined say $158.00 for having sex past the allowed amount of time||
Okay people, lets get this straight…
Red light: means stop
Yellow light: means slow down (not speed up or slam on brakes)
Green means: GO
If you do not know your colors, Then:
Red is at the top
Yellow is in the middle and
Green is at the bottom
The reason that so many people feel the need for cameras to be installed is not only for revenue but for the red light (lawbreakers) runners that feel that their time is more important than the driver next to you. These types of people have no regard for YOUR child, sister, brother, mother or father. For all the red light runners out there….Do the Speed Limit and you won’t have to slam on brakes when the light turns yellow. So the speeders and red light lawbreakers need to be blamed for the cameras going up. Everyone Drive Safely.
Revenue! Revenue! Revenue! Big brother is ALWAYS watching, and now where are the true rights activists when we ALL need them? Hey, this puts $$ in my pockets, and I won’t say how, but I agree with the “rear-enders” comment above. The yellow lights are NOT long enough. The red lights burn, burn, burn our costly fuel, because they’re so lengthy. I am truly PHOBIC about getting a citation, because I have not had a ticket in over 15 years. With insurance already at an all time high, Florida is sending traffic offenders to State Prison in record numbers, this truly scares me. General public, you have NO IDEA how many inmates are in these jails from mounting costs of traffic offenses already. Can’t we put our dollars into better use? What about taking some of that cocaine off our street corners? Help the panhandlers earn real jobs (maybe have them tend some community gardens). Hey, code enforcement certainly has land they’ve stolen from folks with real problems. Those gardens could help feed some of this county’s mounting homeless. How about a “hand up, not hand out,” house for families with kids who are truly needy. There’s plenty of folks who want to work, but can’t get hired, because they have a “record.” There hands and feet still work, even if there brains were deficient at one point. Give people a chance. Escambia County doesn’t offer much to encourage folks to stay.
REGARDING:
” every $158 ticket will give one voter the reason to see you gone. $3million devided by $158 equals around 19,000.”
So you’re assuming only voters within the county will run red lights and that each one will only run it one time. Further, you assume they will each blame the county commissioners for their crime rather than accept responsibility.
Interesting set of assumptions
Incumbents returned to office. After the election, they vote this money-making scheme into action. Does anyone see the connection? Looks like ruling-class arrogance to me.
Why does the county need more money? Why don’t they just trim the budget and decrease the spending?
This is a terrible revenue generating scheme and the fact that they are arrogant enough to not even deny it amazes me; they are not even trying to sell it under the guise of safety.
Oh well, they have a couple more years until the next election and by then we’ll all have gotten used to the cameras (and anything else this bunch comes up with) and will have forgotten how arrogant they are and we’ll vote ‘em right back in.
Well said AL
I agree
Hey boss. Can I borrow your car for an hour….or two….????
Watch how many people get rear ended by this. Light goes yellow and everybody slames on brakes. Clearly public safety is not the driving force here. Who wouldn’t vote to make that much money? Thanks County Commisioners
Just remember that 2-3 million will be paid by ” we the people” and every $158 ticket will give one voter the reason to see you gone. $3million devided by $158 equals around 19,000. I think that number could change a election. Good luck and lets see how that works out for all of you commisioners. That septic tank inspection money could be delayed a while so I guess this can tide them over
until they can force that on us.
Just give the Sheriff’’s Deputies $83.00 for every ticket they hand out.
No one should run red lights, we all know that . And maybe this will be a good way to stop some people, others I’m sure will take it as a personal challenge. I tend to think this might be a little bit to much big brother involvement.
If traffic signals are properly engineered according to law red light cameras can’t make enough money to be profitable as proved in Georgia. After 13 public red light camera referendums nationwide safety has prevailed and the camera schemes were foiled by voters who knew better. I fight the cams every week in court, they don’t like to lose, the facts prevail.
REGARDING:
“That 3 million dollars extra revenue they will generate is coming right out of our pockets.”
Could be but if it does come out of my pocket, you will know I was running red lights at the time. If I want to keep my money, I can NOT run the red lights.
Decisions, decisions,
REGARDING:
“What happens if you get to the light and it turns from yellow to red as you go under it? You will be ticketed?”
I haven’t read the ordinance but if it’s like Georgia, there is a two or three second delay between red and photo. It was written to allow those in the intersection when it turned red to get out before being considered in violation.
Yah, we know law makers/big businesses never screw anyone over…especially not for money!
Yup, this isn’t a bad thing!
GOOD! So glad the cameras were approved. Now people can’t get away with blatantly disregarding the laws and everyone else’s safety on the roads!
awesome. no worries if we all follow the law!
What happens if you get to the light and it turns from yellow to red as you go under it? You will be ticketed? And if you are driving someone elses car, or they are in your car driving, you will get a ticket and not know why?
Will they have to prove in a court of law who was in fact driving and how will they do that?
Seems like a way to just scam money out of the residents
Good for Escambia! I’m sure the reckless driver lobby will be shouting away at how this is a terrible injustice, but if you don’t run red lights or speed you have nothing to fear from traffic law enforcement, either from a cop or a camera.
This won”t last they have to prove the owner of the vehicle was driving, there are many class action lawsuits against this already. Do some investigating and don’t let them run over you.
Maybe we should just pay the new fines…. No, that’s just what they’ll be expecting us to do.
That 3 million dollars extra revenue they will generate is coming right out of our pockets. They write this as if that money just falls from the sky and it’s “good” for all of us. How much could the government save if they stopped buying up all the latest bells and whistles out of the law enforcement catalogs? I wonder how long it will be before we have to buy a permit to take a nap on Saturday afternoon?
oops, sorry, Bob
Ill just send them a picture of my money.
LOL Sometimes the “righteous indignation” of folks is more telling than they realize. I don’t care if they put cameras at every traffic light or every stop sign at every intersection. The reason I do not care is because I do not run red lights or stop signs; and nor do I allow anyone to drive my vehicle who lacks the the same sense of responsibility, safety, and right vs wrong.
Yep, it’ll make the county more money for the commissioners to find whole new ways to waste it. Unless, of course, folks start obeying traffic laws so that the income goes down.
Lets all “Punk-em” and don’t run any red lights. That’ll show ‘em!!
To David for Caution. The lights are not even installed and you alreay have my wife asking questions.
I hope that the anticipated $3 million in fine revenue goes down as drivers curtail red light running and make the roads safer. There are nearly 1,000 deaths and 150,000 injuries nationally each year as the result of red light running and something needs to be done to reduce these statistics. The Florida red light camera statute was enacted after much evidence was presented that camera enforcement has been shown to reduce red light running and intersection collisions.
This is great news. The only people that are mad are those who like to break the law. Go the speed limit and I promise, you will have no issues.
This is about money not safety. The company who has been providing the cameras is out of Arizonia and has become a multi million dollar company. On the back of the citzens of the cities and states who allow this to happen. There are cities who are now having them taken out because of them being too contriversal. As in anything when there is a lot money involved “if there can be abuse there will be abuse”.
Yes, the city would be taking in money it normally wouldn’t, but probably needs – however, the big picture goes to show that if there are that many citations to mail out – there is a lot of reckless and potentially very harmful driving going on.
This is good news. Keep up the publicity about these systems and you will make them even more effective.
REGARDING:
“I regularly have to stop at every light on 29, there is no reason for the lack to sync.”
And in some cases you wouldn’t even need sychronization. You would be better served with lights with sensors (maybe even cameras) able to tell if people were coming from the red side when there was nobody coming from the green side so the light would know to switch to green ere the driver reached the intersection.
David for better technology
REGARDING:
“The automated cameras snap a photo of the car and license plate of alleged red light runners, and the driver receives a $158 citation in the mail — along with a photo of the violation.”
Imagine:
“Honey, this picture just came in the mail. It shows you and our neighbor, Bob, in the car together running a red light at 2:17 in the morning of the night you spent with your sick mother. Did Bob help you sit with her? Mighty thoughtful of him. I need to go thank him.”
David for caution
David Augustine is right on.
I regularly have to stop at every light on 29, there is no reason for the lack to sync. We spent millions doing traffic studies years ago, but there is no improvement.
Getting the lights to change in time with a car driving the speed limit is simple, and need not be put off any longer. Such a reasonable effort… so little money… why must we continue to wait!?
REGARDING:
“Is our county trying to make money. I thought they were a non profit org, a county Gov.”
While I doubt that was the purpose here, yes, the county needs money to operate all the things it does. It’s not a question of profit or nonprofit. Nonprofits have to pay bills too.
David answering question
I totally agree that the yellow light timers must be set for only 1 second, which is not even enough time to comprehend it’s turning RED let alone react before it’s too late. To me it seems that it will make the County more money to spend, but at what cost? It’s going to create MORE accidents, because the sooner one side turns Red, the other side is going to be Green and the previous driver is still trying to decide it their going to keep on going or slam on breaks. Since we cannot afford tickets galore, weve opted to slam on breaks (which should be real productive for ourselves and our vehichle each time) and hope and pray we don’t get slammed in the rear by someone who was doing the same as us, driving along through what they thought was a Green light. A semi-truck behind someone slamming on breaks should present a real productive scenerio for many. Makes you not even want to drive anymore!
This is a money making game foist on the dupes that allowed a slick salesperson to sell the “powers that be” on the idea of EASY MONEY.
EVERYWHERE these systems have been installed there have been enourmous and costly problems – problems so great that they usually result in the REMOVAL of the elected officials that hired thse charlatans in the first place.
Note that the COntractor gets the LION’S SHARE of the income – and you don’t think they have a vested interest in getting these instlled everywhere they can? Ha!
If you want a cheap and easy solution – try putting Traffic Officers to write citations ON THE SPOT near “troubled” intersections, the County coffers will fill up faster, there will be a HUMAN accuser, not an electronic device for Court, and you won’t have to SHARE the WEALTH with an OUT-OF-STATE, LICENSED-TO-STEAL company (that has pulled the wool over some dupes eyes).
Just wait until you see the tricks they’ll pull to catch more “violators” – like switching the Yellow Light timing from seconds to NANOSECONDS. They’re pretty jacked-up everywhere I drive anyway – no consistency and nothing systematic.
AND THESE SYSTEMS HAVE BEEN TOSSED OUT BY ANGRY VOTERS – ELECTED OFFICIALS ALONG WITH ‘EM.
How about publishing the approved ordinance verbatim so that the people can see just exactly how this the BOCC is going to cherry pick dollars from the public while making some private company richer.
Spend the money to synchronize the traffic lights so we don’t idle and wait at intersections when there is no traffic for miles the other way. How bout that commission..!
I was northbound on highway 29 at Kingsfield about two weeks ago waiting for the light to turn green on 29. I was the fourth vehicle behind the light. It turned green, two cars went through the intersection, just as the third car started into the intersection the light went from green to red instantly, the yellow light flashed, about like a camera flash, because of a train approaching the crossing on the west side of 29. So the third car ran a red light that was in noway their fault, I’m sure if there had been a camera here and it had been one of you pro-redlight camera people, you would be smiling real big the whole time your writing that $158 check. The right thing to do would be to time the yellow light the same way it’s timed on a regular change, but since the county is using the camera’s for money, NOT SAFETY, I’m sure they won’t do that and use every opportunity to make a dime.
Cameras are exactly what is needed since we don’t have any traffic patrol and many intersections are a constant danger. This should be a cash cow and save lives and injuries.
Is our county trying to make money. I thought they were a non profit org, a county Gov. That’s why they will install a red light at a blink of an eye (To make money). All this county needs is another red light. Teach people how to drive and get them off them CELL PHONES this would be a big help. BAN CELL PHONES. And why give over half the money to a private company. I wish I could install 20 cameras and make 2-3 million a year off them WHAT A MONEY MAKER for the private company. We need a better deal
They could hire full time staff to install and service these camera’s for less than what we will be sending out. It would provide a few more jobs which is what we need.
Wow, they aren’t even bothering to claim it’s for safety. Too bad for them here in Florida they can’t ticket for right on red, so they loose out on 80% of the ticketing and revenue these systems would usually put out, and too bad for the citizens of Escambia county Red Light Cameras actually cause more crashes after they are installed, like they did in Temple Terrace:
http://www.stpetecameras.org/home/rlc-studies/temple-terrace-fl-usa-2009-rlc-report
I think this is great. Can’t happen soon enough.
Giving the contractor more than half of the money is crazy! I’m sure there is some company out there that can and will do it for less of a percentage than the one the county has chosen. I guess I’m in the wrong business and I need to start a red light camera company along with a septic tank inspection company so I can get on this government gravy train!