Hillsborough starts ticketing red light runners today

Drivers caught on camera running red lights at six Hillsborough County intersections will get $125 citations starting today.

The cameras started operating Oct. 30, but violators have been getting warning notices. During that time, 2,770 warnings have been mailed out, according to the Sheriff's Office.

The intersections with cameras are Waters Avenue and Dale Mabry Boulevard, Waters and Anderson Road, Fletcher Avenue and Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, Brandon Boulevard and Grand Regency Boulevard, Bell Shoals Road and Bloomingdale Avenue, and Sligh Avenue and Habana Avenue.

The registered owner of a vehicle caught running a red light on camera will get a $125 citation in the mail along with two photos: one of the car just before entering the intersection with the light red; the other a photo of the car, showing the license plate, traveling under the light. The notice will also contain a Web site where the driver can view a video of the infraction.

Vehicle owners can appeal the citation before a special magistrate appointed by the county's code enforcement department. The citation will not count against someone's driving record or cause his or her insurance premiums to increase.

"It's not handled like a regular traffic ticket," said sheriff's Cpl. Darrin Barlow. "It's a county ordinance violation, much like a parking ticket."

Barlow said the cameras are aimed at stopping drivers from running red lights straight on or with left-hand turns. Drivers making right-hand turns on red will not be ticketed if they are going 15 mph or less. Barlow said the camera can judge the speed of the vehicle making the turn.

"At the inception of the program, we looked at what was causing serious accidents with injuries and fatalities," Barlow said. "It was your straight-ahead violations and your left-turn violations."

Drivers making a left-hand turn who are in the middle of the intersection when the light changes to red will not get tickets, Barlow said. However, if they cross the white stop bar on the asphalt after the light turns red, they will be ticketed.

Temple Terrace operates two red light cameras at 56th Street and Bullard Parkway, and 56th Street and Fowler Avenue. The city has been giving tickets to violators since the two cameras went live in October 2008. Unlike the county, Temple Terrace will ticket drivers who do not stop completely when turning right on red.

A growing number of Florida cities and counties, including Lakeland and Brooksville, are installing the lights. Law enforcement officials say they are an effective tool in preventing traffic accidents in intersections. Red-light running causes more than 180,000 crashes a year, resulting in more than 1,000 deaths and 90,000 injuries, officials say.

But critics say the lights' main purpose is to raise money for cash-strapped local governments. In August, five people sued Temple Terrace and American Traffic Solutions, the company that provided and operates the lights in that city and for Hillsborough County. The complainants contend the lights do not comply with state statutes requiring that traffic laws be uniform around the state.

Tampa officials are studying whether the cameras are a good idea for the city. Mayor Pam Iorio rejected the idea in 2007, citing research that showed the cameras caused rear-end collisions. The mayor also had concerns about using a private company to issue traffic citations.