Stopping red-light runners in Brandon

"Dude, you are so busted."

That was my reaction upon examining the contents of an official-looking envelope that arrived in my mailbox a few years ago.

There, in indisputable black and white, was a photo of a family member's car apparently blowing through a red light at an intersection in another city. While other cars plainly idled behind the white lines, a single vehicle - one that's usually parked in my driveway - was photographed motoring through the middle of the crossroads.

The driver, advised by phone of the incriminating missive, initially claimed innocence. But later, photo in hand ... well, a picture truly is worth a thousand words. In this case, it was also worth 125 bucks to the town where the caught-on-camera offense occurred.

It's a scene that could soon play out in a household near you.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office has contracted with Arizona-based American Traffic Solutions to install and monitor cameras to catch red-light runners at six local intersections, including two in Brandon: Bloomingdale Avenue at Bell Shoals Road and State Road 60 at Brandon Town Center Boulevard.

Sheriff's traffic Cpl. Greg Wynn said the sites were selected based on the frequency and severity of accidents at crossroads countywide.

It seems there's an unfortunate element of truth to the one-liner bandied about Bloomingdale for years: "If you ever need car parts, just drive over to the corner of Bloomingdale and Bell Shoals and help yourself to the crash debris."

In 2008, Wynn said, there were 67 collisions at the intersection in front of Bloomingdale Square shopping center. About half of the injuries suffered in 10 accidents at the site were reported as severely incapacitating or fatal.

Near the entrance to Westfield Brandon mall, at S.R. 60 and Brandon Town Center, there were 74 crashes in 2008. About a quarter of the injuries in 12 accidents there were severe or fatal.

The surveillance cameras were activated on Bloomingdale at Bell Shoals on Oct. 30. After a 60-day warning period, citations will be issued by mail starting Dec. 31.

The vendor is in the process of installing cameras at the S.R. 60 and Brandon Town Center intersection and four traffic hot spots in Tampa: Dale Mabry Highway and Waters Avenue; Bruce B. Downs Boulevard and Fletcher Avenue; Sligh and Habana; and Waters and Anderson avenues.

The fine for red-light runners caught on camera is $125. The civil offense differs from a real-time citation handed through the car window by a police officer in that it's $90 cheaper, is not classified as a moving violation and does not result in points assessed to the offending driver's license.

Violators are given an opportunity to challenge citations in court.

The increased use of traffic surveillance cameras across the country has drawn public criticism from some who say the program violates civil rights, causes an increase in rear-end accidents and is nothing more than a municipal money-making scheme.

In Hillsborough County, the vendor's contract calls for the company to receive up to $4,750 a month from fines collected for violations at each intersection it monitors. Any excess goes into the county's general fund. County officials expect to generate more than $200,000 a month from the fines.

A few coins in the county coffers couldn't hurt, but Wynn said any windfall would just be a bonus. The intent of the program, he said, is to reduce accidents and save lives. To boot, he said, it won't cost taxpayers a red cent.

"It's violator funded," he said. "If you don't run a red light, you don't pay a dime for the program."

According to the national Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, more than 900 people are killed each year in wrecks involving red-light running.

Wynn said law enforcement officials maintain that most intersection T-bone crashes caused by red-light runners produce violent accidents with more serious damage and injuries than the typical rear-end collision.

"We'll have less crashes and fewer injuries and fatalities," Wynn said. "That's the goal."