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Traffic cameras could be gone in a flash

Alex Wilson
Posted 1/17/18

GREEN COVE SPRINGS – The Florida Legislature may be one step closer to prohibiting red light camera programs statewide, something that could affect local revenue significantly.

The Florida House …

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Traffic cameras could be gone in a flash


Posted

GREEN COVE SPRINGS – The Florida Legislature may be one step closer to prohibiting red light camera programs statewide, something that could affect local revenue significantly.

The Florida House of Representatives passed House Bill 6001 on Jan. 12 with a vote of 83-18. If its companion bill passes the Florida Senate, governments with red light cameras will be prohibited from using them after 2021.

Both Green Cove Springs and Orange Park have red light cameras, with several on U.S. Highway 17 alone. Together, the two cities have averaged an annual total of $461,956 in revenue from the traffic cameras for the past five years.

An identical bill remains to be reviewed by the senate, but the bills come at a time when a nationwide movement towards removing red light cameras is gaining momentum.

“Legislation like this comes around every year, but this year it has a little more steam than usual,” said Jim Arnold, city attorney for Green Cove Springs. “Of course, if the legislature prohibits red light cameras, then we won’t have them.”

HB 6001 primarily repeals specific statutes related to red light cameras in the Mark Wandall Traffic Safety Program, which Florida Legislature passed in 2010. Mark Wandall, a Bradenton resident who died in a traffic accident in 2003, inspired a slew of changes to traffic laws regarding safety. Tragically, his daughter Madison was born 19 days later. Wandall’s wife, Melissa, went on to establish the Mark Wandall Foundation, which offers programs to support children who’ve lost a parent or guardian.

Consequently, the Orange Park Police Department cited the Mark Wandell Act in 2012 as a way to increase safety in establishing its red light camera program.

However, the Wandall Traffic Safety Program also helped introduce red light cameras to Florida, something that several Florida representatives have begun to rally against.

“The failure and corruption of red light cameras has been well documented,” House Speaker Richard Corcoran (R-Land O’ Lakes), stated in a press release. “Having reviewed years of data with Representatives [Bryan] Avila (R-Hialeah) and [Blaise] Ingoglia (R-Spring Hill), it is clear that red light cameras are more about revenue than public safety.”

A variety of studies from organizations such as the National Motorists Association and the United States Public Interest Research Group have found that red light cameras lead to an increase in both citations and traffic incidents. Furthermore, several studies published in the Florida Public Health Review have found that cameras also lead to increased injuries. These same studies have also found that red light cameras often appear to be more motivated by profit than by public safety.

“Red light cameras do not benefit the public – they only benefit local governments addicted to the revenue they generate and the companies that provide the services,” stated Ingoglia, in a press release. “If red light cameras were really about public safety, local governments would not be getting rid of them once their revenues decline. It is further proof they are nothing but

taxation by citation.”

If the bill succeeds, there would be no immediate change. Instead the bill would take effect in 2021, and would prohibit the implementation of new red light camera programs. Legislators predict that drivers will save $159 million annually.

Locally, the Town of Orange Park implemented red light cameras in 2012 in the midst of a tight budget year that would force town council to dip into reserve funds to balance its budget. The town signed another new five-year contract for its cameras in the fall of 2017 with Mesa, Ariz.-based American Traffic Solutions, which is also used by Green Cove Springs.