Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Brooksville FL Camera Tickets Issue Civil Fines
In Brooksville if you receive a traffic ticket in the mail you can watch the video of the "offense" online or at the station. The cameras that are installed photograph the car as you approach and then while you are crossing. The tickets are considered "civil" since they are not issued by a police officer. Appeals are being heard by a special hearing officer called a "special master" on the last Tuesday of every month and last about two to three hours, depending on the case volume.. In Brooksville, Bill Eppley has been the "special master" since 2006 when he was appointed by the Brooksville city council in 2006.In Brooksville there are four intersections with cameras recording "violations"
1. at the SW corner of Broad Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
2. Broad Street and Wiscon Road
3. Broad Street and Cortez Boulevard
4. Cobb Road and Jefferson Street
5. one aimed at the southbound lane of Cobb Road and West Jefferson will start operating before September 12, 2009.
The National Motorists Association has called for a nationwide ban of the cameras.
"Traffic levels are down and the fatality and accident rates are down around the country, I question the need for a traffic unit in Brooksville." said a Florida member of the National Motorists Association, Henry Stowe.
Traffic attorney W.F. "Casey" Ebsary Jr. of Tampa Florida believes that since the rules and regulations governing Florida's roads are so complicated the hearings would be better suited for a judge. Mr. Ebsary said "[t]he only thing an inch and a half thick (with civil violations) are tickets and checks to pay tickets."
$125 Cost of a red-light ticket.
$40 Amount camera vendor American Traffic Solutions collects (Brooksville keeps the rest).
1,524 Number of citations Brooksville has issued since April (not including the 30-day warning period following camera installation)
$120,987 Amount Brooksville has collected in citations.
$17,720 Amount paid to American Traffic Solutions.
$1M Estimated amount the red-light program could bring in 1 year 3/2009 - 3/2010
http://www2.hernandotoday.com/content/2009/aug/15/special-master-rules-red-light-tickets/news/
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/local/brooksville-police-chief-calls-windfall-in-revenue-from-red-light-camera/1027187
Labels: Camera Tickets, Civil Fines, Florida
A few other useful links:
Centralaw for general Legal Issues,
Computer and Internet Law,
DUIFLA Motorsports at DirtyDetails.com,
DuiFla DUI DWI In Florida,
Your Florida Online Traffic School,
DUI in Tampa Bay Florida,
DUI in Hillsborough Florida
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