South Florida Injury Lawyers Blog
As we recently reported on our Fort Lauderdale Car Accident Attorney Blog, Boynton Beach is raking in the dough from their intersection cameras. There are more than 10 red-light cameras in the area. They may cost the city more than $52,000 each month, but they brought in more than $2 million from July of 2011 through August of 2012.
According to the Sun Sentinel, city officials are looking to expand the program to generate even more revenue. About $2 million was collected for the city in just a 14-month time period. Thousands of motorists were busted for trying to slip through the traffic lights. Elected officials are going to vote on the addition of five new red-light cameras at four new intersections in the area. These new cameras could bust close to 2,000 more drivers every month.
Our Boynton Beach car accident lawyers understand that the 11 cameras in the city were expected to catch close to 12,000 drivers trying to run red lights by the end of September. Each of these drivers would get a citation and a fine of close to $160. The state takes some of the money, but the city is expected to get more than $2 million before expenses.
Of course, these systems aren’t free. To operate them all, there is close to $650,000 in lease payments. It also cost law enforcement officer wages because they need to be hired to look over the footage before issuing tickets. Since only two officers can use the system at a time and there’s a lot of footage to cover, this takes quite some time and in turn is pretty costly!
First off, commissioners are trying to hire two community service officers at close to $60,000 a piece to look over the footage. With the additional cameras and the extra officers, city officials think that the program will help to make a profit.
Vice Mayor Mack McCray says that he knows that the cameras are effective. Even he was busted and slapped with a citation for passing through a red light.
Despite all of the talk about the money and the profit, city leaders still say it’s not about the money — it’s more about the safety of our drivers.
In recent studies regarding these cameras, the number of t-bone accidents usually decreased whereas the number of rear-end accidents actually increase. This is usually because drivers try too hard to avoid a ticket and slam on their brakes.
At four of the intersections where there are already cameras, the number of accidents dropped by close to 60 percent. Commissioner Steven Holzman says you can’t believe all of the numbers though. He says that the city hasn’t compared accident stats to other intersections too, to see if the drop was part of a citywide trend. Police Chief Matt Immler said that’s probably the case because the number of accidents across the city have dropped.
If you or a loved one has been involved in a car accident, contact Freeman & Mallard for a free and confidential consultation to discuss your case. Call 1-800-561-7777.
More Blogs Entries:
Palm Beach Traffic Safety: Drivers Behaving Badly, Even Without Distractions, South Florida Injury Lawyers Blog, August 30, 2012
Red-Light Runners Causing Serious Accidents in Tamarac, South Florida Injury Lawyers Blog, August 16, 2012