Florida Quietly Reduces Yellow Light Length Resulting In Increased Red Light Camera Tickets

If the saturation and evolution of technology in nearly every aspect of modern life are any indication, it seems red light cameras are an inevitable reality for traffic law enforcement in the future. However, a story out of the state of Florida has many opponents of traffic light cameras up in arms.

Quietly, the Florida Department of Transportation lowered the state's required yellow light interval to below the federal recommended time. Though yellow light intervals were only lowered by fractions of a second, the subtle change has ment big bucks in fines.

Research indicates a half-second change in yellow light intervals can double the amount of citations. Last year, Florida's red light cameras generated over $100 million in fines. This year, the state is on pace to generate $120 million.

After WTSP News-10 of Tampa Bay, Florida broke the story, Hernando County promised to re-time all of its intersections back up to the federal recommended level.

[Via WTSP]