Right turns under red-light cameras judged differently in Volusia, Flagler

The following article was published in the Daytona Beach News Journal on September 6, 2011:

Right turns under red-iight cameras judged differently in Volusia, Flagler

By Jay Stapleton

You have to stop before making a right-turn on red.

Right?

The proliferation of new red-light cameras in Volusia and Flagler counties has caused motorists to ponder many things that used to be routine, including what’s legal when it comes to the old right-on-red law.

“To me, turning right on red would be more like a yield,” said Sandy Jensen, 51, of Holly Hill. “You’re not going to fly through it, you’re going to roll slowly through.”

She’s right, sort of.

“It depends on the traffic. If there’s a ton of cars coming, I’m not going to turn,” Jensen said.

You can yield, lawyers say, but you’d better stop first.

Thousands of people have been issued red-light violations since earlier this year, when Daytona Beach added several cameras at intersections where crashes have been a problem.

Jensen said she was one of them. She paid the fine of $158 because she didn’t want to risk paying more. “I’m just mad about the lights; there’s really not a whole lot you can do.”

One thing she said she couldn’t do was stop in time. “I would have ended up in the middle of the intersection,” Jensen said.

Daytona Beach Police Chief Mike Chitwood said traffic cameras were added in the city after a traffic study pointed out the most dangerous local intersections, including Nova Road and International Speedway Boulevard. “We’re just trying to save lives,” he said.

Most of the camera tickets being issued are for “straight through” red-light violations. When it comes to right turns on red, Chitwood said, “we’re pretty lenient.”

At the suggestion of the company that maintains the cameras in Daytona Beach, a violation is issued if a person passes through the intersection, turning right, at 13 mph or faster. If a person opts to pay the initial $158 violation, the ticket is dismissed. If they choose to challenge the violation, a police officer reviews the video evidence and decides whether the infraction will be filed.

Chitwood said the law requires that a right turn after a stop at a red light be made in a “careful and prudent manner.”

“If you come up clear, we’re not going to tag you,” he said.

The city has seven intersections being monitored by red-light cameras. They include Nova Road and Bellevue Avenue; International Speedway Boulevard and Indigo Drive; Nova Road at Mason Avenue, George Engram Boulevard and International Speedway Boulevard; and International Speedway Boulevard at Ridgewood Avenue and Clyde Morris Boulevard.

There appears to be some confusion between the long-established traffic law on red lights and the newer statute that permits the use of traffic cameras. What will get you a ticket in Ocala might not in Orlando, according to Chitwood.

“The Florida statute is that you have to come to a complete stop,” said Susan DiFruscio, a customer service representative with code enforcement for the city of Palm Coast. “If the camera catches you, you’re going to get a ticket.”

In Daytona Beach, the cameras signal a ticket if the person turns through the intersection at more than 13 mph. But that doesn’t mean you can roll through right turns at will.

“For purposes of traffic enforcement, our deputies consider it to be ticketable offense for a motorist to fail to come to a full and complete stop before making a right turn on a red light,” said Gary Davidson, spokesman for the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office.

The disparity lies in the Mark Wandall Traffic Safety Act, which authorizes red-light cameras.

The statute “includes statutory language that prohibits the issuance of a camera-based citation for failure to stop at a red light in instances where a driver is making a right-hand turn in a careful and prudent manner,” Davidson said.

According to the Clerk of Court for Volusia County, 676 camera tickets have been dismissed since May, most of them after a review by police.

Chitwood said the program is new, and he expects legal challenges to continue. “We’re trying to get people to comply with the law,” he said. “It’s like anything else, it’s new. We’ll see where it goes from here.”

Aaron Delgado, a defense lawyer in Daytona Beach, has challenged and won about a dozen red-light ticket cases. He’s won dismissals on procedural grounds, including the inspections of red lights and cameras.

“It’s a real pet peeve of people, because no one wants to stop,” he said. “Everyone thinks you can just roll through.”

He said the two statutes — on the cameras and the stop lights — have to be considered together.

“I would imagine those two have to be read together,” he said. “A red light is just like a stop sign. You can’t make a rolling right tun at a stop sign.”

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