Red Light Cameras at Risk in Florida

A bill to eliminate red light cameras in Florida gets out of committee in its Senate. Details from Tallahassee.com:

The measure, sponsored by Sen. Rene Garcia, R-Hialeah, would repeal a law allowing the cameras and remove them from state roads by July. Garcia said the cameras, while improving safety at intersections, amount to an assault on privacy.

"I think what we have before us in the state of Florida is the beginning of Big Brother starting to watch us everywhere," he said…..

The cameras, which are going up in a growing number of Florida communities, would raise $158 million next fiscal year, including $70.1 million for the state and $71.7 million for local governments, according to the most recent estimates. Violations cost drivers $158.

The Florida Libertarian Party claims credit for the anti-cameras bill's progress.

Radley Balko from last December on how red light cameras may not work at making roads safer, but at least work at making cities bucks; Matt Welch from 2009 on how the cameras seem to increase rear-end crashes in Los Angeles; Balko from 2008 on how a study in Florida's own Florida Public Health Review pokes holes in the "science" that claims the cameras are good for traffic safety.