Orange County Officials Want Red Light Cameras But Waiting for Lawmakers

Orange County officials are planning to install as many as 80 additional red light cameras at dangerous intersections throughout the county over the next two years, but they are holding off on installing them until Florida legislators make a decision about them slated for next spring. Currently, there are ten red light cameras in place in Orange County, which were installed after lawmakers approved the cameras and the $158 fines for running red lights. The use of the cameras was approved in recent years, but a bill in the Florida House last spring proposed eliminating these cameras. The bill did not pass, but opposition to the life-saving cameras remains strong, and Orange County officials want to make sure red light cameras laws will remain legal before investing in their installation.

Orange County commissioners mentioned that if red light cameras remain legal in Florida, they plan to add 40 new cameras in each of the next two years. They said that the focus would be on adding them to busy state roads in the area, with State Road 535 and Colonial Drive among the first new installations. Officials stressed that moving forward with the additional red light cameras was contingent upon what state lawmakers decide next spring.

“We don’t want to invest in more cameras with the prospect that the Legislature will rescind them,” one said.

Just how big is our county’s problem with drivers disobeying traffic signals? Consider that in the last six months, red light cameras in Orange County have generated $738,000 in fines from nearly 8,400 citations, with the state taking around half of that revenue and the county receiving $396,000. Of that dollar amount, the county plans to invest $282,000 in managing the red light camera system and honoring its contract with the vendor that sells the cameras. County officials say that the $114,000 that remains will be spent on improvements to make area roadways safer for bicyclists and pedestrians. The intersections of John Young Parkway at Central Florida Parkway and West Oak Ridge Road at Texas Avenue have generated the most citations, with each intersection averaging 87 citations a week.

If nearly 90 citations for running red lights from one intersection each week sounds alarming, that’s because it most definitely is alarming and profoundly disturbing. It makes no sense at all that drivers continue to value their time more than they do the lives of other people sharing the road, but that is essentially what they are doing. It is senseless, reckless and incredibly negligent. If you or someone in your family has been injured in an accident caused by someone running a red light and you want to learn more about your legal options, contact Orlando personal injury attorney James O. Cunningham today at 407-425-2000 or 386-243-4994 to schedule a free consultation. Please exercise extra care when entering an intersection after the light has changed.

James O. Cunningham

Since 1977, personal injury lawyer James Cunningham has provided effective legal advocacy to people who are injured through the negligent actions of another person or entity throughout the Central Florida area. He fights to obtain recoveries for his clients’ physical and emotional pain and suffering and pursues his clients’ personal injury cases with a commitment to excellence and impeccable preparation.