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RLC

Actually, crash data shows mixed bag

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When it comes to crashes at Florida’s controversial red-light camera intersections, all may not be what it seems. As Florida lawmakers gear up for battle once again over the use of red light cameras statewide, a new report by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles offers a decidedly mixed bag for both sides of the debate. On the one hand, the DHSMV released data Dec. 31 showing automobile accidents are up across Florida in the 2015-16 fiscal year, including…

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WTSP: As profits plunge, red light cameras could go dark around Tampa Bay

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Local governments across Florida are reconsidering red light cameras after longer yellow lights statewide reduced the ability to profit off of the program. While politicians hope that terminating contracts will end the controversy, Noah Pransky of WTSP-TV notes that it only adds to the debate: are RLCs actually a safety measure or are they simply for profit? Of every violation — usually a $158 fine — $83 goes to the State of Florida; the remaining $75 goes to pay RLC contracts,…

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Red-light camera crackdown stalls in Senate, gets green light in House

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Efforts to put the brakes on the use of red-light cameras by municipalities stalled in the Florida Senate on Tuesday, but is continuing to cruise in the House. State Sen. Jeff Brandes and state Rep. Brian Avila say the money the cameras raise in fines should be used for public safety programs. An OPPAGA report found that most of the revenue generated by the fines, $119 million in 2013, is used as part of local governments’ general revenue fund. “If public safety is…

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House to consider proposal restricting state red-light camera program

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A House committee on Wednesday will take up the bill seeking an overhaul of Florida’s red-light camera (RLC) laws, part of which would ban citations for motorists making right turns. PCB HWSS 15-05, in front of the House Highway & Waterway Safety Subcommittee, would change the state’s red-light camera law passed in 2010. In addition to ending citations for right turns, the bill would also limit how local governments use the revenue from RLC violations. Violations of red-light laws carry…

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Red light cameras, with $105M in revenue last year, remain controversial

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Red-light Cameras (RLC) caught violations by nearly one million Floridians last year, creating quite the revenue stream for municipalities across the state, according to a new report Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. As reported by Lloyd Dunkelberger of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, of 941,000 violations issued to motorists, a majority of them (648,000) pay the $158 penalty, which is then split between local governments ($75) and the state ($83). Of those 37,000 who challenged the citations, 12,000 wound…

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