The Florida legislature came close to banning the use of red light cameras last year. The state House voted 59 to 57 in favor of overturning the 2010 statute permitting the use of automated ticketing machines, but municipal and traffic camera lobbyists were successful in blocking the bill in the Senate.
This year, the anti-camera effort has returned, but a vote last Wednesday suggests photo enforcement opponents face an uphill battle. The House Transportation & Highway Safety Subcommittee voted 10 to 3 to gut the Florida Motorist Rights Restoration Act, which would have offered a number of protections for the owners of vehicles accused by a red light camera.
The measure would have required unannounced, third-party testing of the camera's accuracy every six months. Currently, there are no procedures in place for verifying the accuracy of a camera. The private, for-profit vendors who own and operate the machines self-certify the accuracy of their own products. The bill would have established a $500 penalty against any city or traffic camera vendor that issues a ticket from an inaccurate, untested device. The prosecution would also have the burden of establishing the guilt of the accused.
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