State Rep. Glorioso Vows To Support Red-Light Camera Law

After receiving an award June 15 from the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office for his "vocal advocacy for public safety," State Rep. Richard "Rich" Glorioso said he would continue to fight for red-light cameras in the future.

A vocal critic of a bill that would have torn down the cameras all over the state, Glorioso (Republican, District 62) said he would be heard again next year if the bill is reintroduced.

"It’s about saving lives, and red-light cameras save lives," he said. "That’s why I opposed the bill."

Florida legislators passed a law permitting the use of red-light cameras in 2010. However, a bill was introduced this year that would outlaw the cameras. The repeal bill (HB 4087) passed the state house May 2 before stalling in a Florida Senate committee.

The bill’s sponsor is State Rep. Richard Corcoran (Republican, District 45), of New Port Richey. Opponents of the cameras say the law is merely a gravy train for the companies who provide the cameras. Corcoran has not yet decided if he will reintroduce the legislation, according to his legislative assistant, Jared Ochs.

"We are going to look at all our options and decide later down the line," Orchs said May 11.

The state legislature reconvenes in January 2012.

Hillsborough County operates red-light cameras at six intersections. Between Jan. 1, 2010 and Feb. 28, 2011, the sheriff's office issued 33,966 red-light citations. The intersection with the most citations issued was Bruce B. Downs Boulevard and Fletcher Avenue, which had 9,070 citations or 26.7 percent. The two red-light camera intersections in the Greater Brandon area–Brandon Town Center Drive and Brandon Boulevard and Bell Shoals Road and Bloomingdale Avenue–accounted for 30.6 percent of the red-light citations.

Each ticket costs the driver $158.

Other Hillsborough County intersections with red-light cameras include: Sligh Avenue and Habana Avenue; Waters Avenue and Dale Mabry Highway; and Waters Avenue and Anderson Road.

Tampa, St. Petersburg and Oldsmar recently voted to install red-light cameras. Temple Terrace has had cameras in place since 2008.

"In Temple Terrace, the number of tickets they issued dropped by 68 percent since the cameras have been installed, so people are aware the cameras are there and they are stopping," he said. "We have also had no fatal accidents at the intersections in Hillsborough County where the cameras are installed, and we had fatal accidents there before."

While he conceded that there might be more rear-end collisions as drivers become accustomed to the cameras, Glorioso said the long-term benefits far outweigh any short-term negatives.

"The number of those crashes decreases as drivers get used to the cameras, and let’s not forget that 50 percent of the fatalities in cases where drivers run red lights are pedestrians so this is not just protecting the drivers," he said.

The sheriff’s office noted Glorioso’s opposition to the red-light camera repeal bill in announcing the award that it presented June 15.

"You can go the sheriff’s office Web site and watch the videos of drivers running red lights and judge for yourself," said Cpl. Troy Morgan, who oversees the sheriff’s office’s red-light camera program. "I think any reasonable person would see the need for the cameras after watching these videos."

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Do you agree that red-light cameras save lives, or do you think that they should be torn down? Tell us in the comments!