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A Florida Judge has ruled that tickets generated by red-light cameras are illegal. The decision could effect drivers throughout the state, including those in Hernando County.
In a lawsuit filed in the city of Aventura, Florida, Miami Circuit Court Judge Jerald Bagley has ruled that tickets issued via red-light cameras are illegal.
In an effort to bolster budget shortfalls due to the bad economy, local governments have been installing cameras at intersections to issue tickets that generate fines upwards of $100 each. Declaring them code violations has been a way for cities to circumvent state laws that require such tickets to be classified as traffic violations - until now.
However, the reason for declaring the practice illegal doesn’t stop there. If a police officer does not witness the violation, a ticket cannot be issued.
“Tickets should be issued by a law enforcement officer who has observed the actions on the part of the alleged violator running a red light.” Judge Bagley said.
Right now, there are 26 cities in the state that have installed cameras at intersections, which have generated millions of dollars in revenue.
State legislators have been considering a bill that would allow traffic light cameras statewide. However, Judge Bagley’s ruling could bring those efforts to a screeching halt.
Furthermore, retaliation against the cameras by drivers has sparked lawsuits in other parts of Florida.
According to reports, “Roughly two dozen drivers have joined a class action suit against the city of Pembroke Pines over red light cameras.”
In addition to charges of the overall legality of the computer generated tickets, some cities like Brooksville, have gone a step further to stack the odds in their favor, by changing the timing on yellow-light signals to just three seconds.
The intentionally manipulated warning signals create a safety hazard, particularly for older drivers with slower reflexes, those driving heavy vehicles, and on wet roads.
While wrongful death lawsuits over signal-timing orchestration have not made headlines yet, it may be just a matter of time before the practice of money before safety results in awards for subsequent death.
Drivers headed to court to fight their camera-driven tickets may now see a light at the end of their tunnel, which has just changed from red to green.
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