Running red lights now a costly mistake

The warning period is over.

The first three red light cameras in Jacksonville will begin issuing a “notice of violation” Friday, and that comes with a $158 fine. The cameras are eastbound and westbound on Baymeadows at Southside and southbound on Southside at Touchton.

“I hope that we’ll see a drop over a period of time and people will stop running red lights,” says Jacksonville Sheriff John Rutherford.

Over the past month, those three cameras alone have sent 467 warning notices.  Rutherford hopes the harsher penalty now will help drive that down.

“Just knowing that the video enforcement is there with the signage and everything, that they’ll start respecting the red,” he says.

The cameras cite the person who the vehicle in question is registered to.  The fine does not include any points on your license.  If the fine is not paid within 30 days it becomes a formal citation through the Clerk of the Courts and the price is bumped up to a normal ticket of $262.

By the end of this first batch of red light cameras, there will be 25 cameras monitoring 17 intersections.  JSO is keeping a working list of which cameras are active and which are under construction on its website.

I asked Rutherford what he thought of the program so far- if he is happy with where we are.

“That remains to be seen as we go over the violations,” he says.

He says they will run a check of the numbers in the next month or two to start to get a gauge on how effective the cameras are.