Gov.Crist gives thumbs up on red light cameras
By admin at 16 May, 2010, 8:23 am
Gov. Charlie Crist has signed into law a bill that will authorize red light cameras as traffic safety enforcement tools.
The measure, which was signed Thursday,will take effect on July 1.
In a nut shell it gives the state approval for the use of these cameras for traffic safety enforcement.
A lot of cities had installed the cameras under code enforcement rules, given the absence of state laws governing them.
Many safety organizations have given the green light to this the legislation, but Florida-based AAA had opposed it and had called on Gov. Crist to veto the bill.
According to AAA officials,
AAA officials said that it turned some statutes upside down by ticketing the owner of a vehicle, regardless of who was driving it.
Since the red-light cameras have a fine and no other penality, AAA officials said they were troubled that drivers would think that running a red light is worth a small ticket, especially if the driver knows there will be no other tickets or points.
AAA had said the current bill could be tweaked to be more about more safety, and the governor should have gone down that road.
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