Post by onthejob on Oct 16, 2014 18:29:36 GMT -5
Judge: Hollywood Violated State Law With Red Light Camera Tickets
Yesterday Eric Arem, a Hollywood resident, won a court ruling: His red light camera citation was thrown out.
At issue was that Arem hadn't actually received the ticket from the City of Hollywood. Instead, it was issued by a Tempe, Arizona-based company, American Traffic Solutions (ATS). ATS operates the majority of Florida's hugely unpopular red light cameras, and the City of Hollywood had allowed the company to issue tickets when it caught cars speeding through the lights.
"Such outsourcing to a third-party for-profit vendor... to issue uniform traffic citations for red light camera violations is contrary to the plain wording of the Florida Statutes," wrote Judge Mark Klingensmith.
The ruling came in state appeals court, reversing an earlier April decision. But ATS spokesman Charles Territo vowed the red-light camera programs would continue, arguing that the company could change its ticketing process in order to comply with the law. "Red-light safety camera programs in Florida will continue," he said, the Sun Sentinel reported.
The ruling is only the latest controversy for Florida's much-despised red-light cameras. In June, the State Supreme court ruled that Orlando and Aventura had illegally ticketed drivers before July 1, 2010, when a new state law was passed granting specific authority.
By the summer of 2013, according to the Orlando Sentinel, more than 900 of the cameras had generated $119 million in tickets.
Follow Miami New Times on Facebook and Twitter @miaminewtimes.
That's the same company that handles our red light tickets.
Yesterday Eric Arem, a Hollywood resident, won a court ruling: His red light camera citation was thrown out.
At issue was that Arem hadn't actually received the ticket from the City of Hollywood. Instead, it was issued by a Tempe, Arizona-based company, American Traffic Solutions (ATS). ATS operates the majority of Florida's hugely unpopular red light cameras, and the City of Hollywood had allowed the company to issue tickets when it caught cars speeding through the lights.
"Such outsourcing to a third-party for-profit vendor... to issue uniform traffic citations for red light camera violations is contrary to the plain wording of the Florida Statutes," wrote Judge Mark Klingensmith.
The ruling came in state appeals court, reversing an earlier April decision. But ATS spokesman Charles Territo vowed the red-light camera programs would continue, arguing that the company could change its ticketing process in order to comply with the law. "Red-light safety camera programs in Florida will continue," he said, the Sun Sentinel reported.
The ruling is only the latest controversy for Florida's much-despised red-light cameras. In June, the State Supreme court ruled that Orlando and Aventura had illegally ticketed drivers before July 1, 2010, when a new state law was passed granting specific authority.
By the summer of 2013, according to the Orlando Sentinel, more than 900 of the cameras had generated $119 million in tickets.
Follow Miami New Times on Facebook and Twitter @miaminewtimes.
That's the same company that handles our red light tickets.
