Bradenton Red Light Cameras Left in Limbo

BRADENTON – At a work session Wednesday, the Bradenton City Council discussed options to improve public safety at city intersections. The city's red light cameras, which have not been in use since mid-2016, will remain idle as city officials continue to wait and see what happens at the state level before considering reimplimentation of the program.

The city first implemented its red light camera program in 2009, but they have not been shown to have had a significant impact in reducing collisions at the intersections where they were installed. Critics point out that this is likely to be related to vendors installing the cameras at locations where less dangerous infractions–such as turning right on red without coming to full and complete stop–often occur, rather than at those most prone to collisions.

The program has also been hampered by costs, particularly after a state law required counties and cities to send $83 of every $158 fine to Tallahassee, while the vendor fees ate up most of the rest. The city says that it netted only around $270,000 of more than $3 million in fines that were collected, and that it may even lose money if the program were to be reinstated because of modifications in driver behavior that occur after the cameras have been in use.

The cameras have been proven to have almost no impact on the most deadly red light infractions in which a driver completely runs a signal that has long since turned red. They tend to produce a slight reduction in violations for which a driver pushes a yellow light to enter an intersection on red, though these violations are rarely involved in fatalities because pedestrians or cross traffic have not yet had a chance to enter the cross-section. They also tend to increase rear end collisions because of drivers making sudden stops on yellow to avoid a possible ticket.

The council discussed other technology such as sensors that prevent a cross signal or opposing light from changing when a vehicle is detected in the intersection but acknowledged that the effectiveness of the expensive newer technologies is still in question. Bradenton Police Chief Melanie Bevan advised that the speed trailers which notify approaching drivers that they are exceeding the posted limit are effective ways to reduce intersection collisions and come at a one time cost of around $18,000 per unit.

The Florida legislature is also expected to take up the red light camera issue again during this year's session. Several attempts to repeal the law have stalled, but momentum for the issue remains. There is also a pending case before the Florida Supreme Court which could be decided in the first half of this year. Council members and Mayor Poston all seemed in agreement that regardless of their individual stances on the cameras themselves, the most prudent course was to wait until those higher powers had weighed in. The item is not expected to come up in a city council meeting before then.

Red light cameras in Manatee County, which renewed its vendor contract last year, remain in effect.