All red-light cameras and their tickets are ending in Manatee County. Here’s why.
Traffic citations will no longer be issued by red-light cameras in Manatee County after local leaders decided to let the contract expire.
The Manatee Board of County Commissioners voted in December to put a pause on certain traffic violations captured by the cameras. In May, the board agreed not to renew the program with Conduent, the third-party vendor that operated the cameras.
According to a Tuesday morning press release, county officials allowed the contract to expire Oct. 15 and traffic violations are no longer being processed through that system. The county’s red light cameras were first installed in 2012.
The City of Bradenton ended its red-light camera program in 2016.
However, drivers are still subject to any traffic violations captured by Manatee County Sheriff’s Office deputies and other law enforcement officers.
Red-light cameras, which record certain intersections and send possible violations to deputies for final approval, have faced fierce criticism from residents over the years.
In an interview with the Bradenton Herald, Melissa Wandall, a red-light camera advocate, condemned the county’s decision to end the program.
“What they have done is really unfortunate because people are dying every day,” said Wandall, a Manatee County resident who began pushing for the cameras to improve roadway safety after her husband Mark was killed in a red-light crash in 2003.
“At the end of the day, it’s the hardest thing to live through because your family falls apart. Roadway tragedy does not discriminate,” she added. “If we can’t come to a point where we’re helping our law enforcement, then, unfortunately, at the end of the day, there’s no respect there.”
Manatee officials oppose red-light camera program
Following the presentation earlier this year, board members said they were in favor of ending the program.
“I’d be 100% on board with just letting this run its course and come October, let’s all just agree that we’re not renewing this come and take your cameras,” Commissioner George Kruse said at the time.
At the time, officials did not explain their reasoning, but in December, some commissioners said they viewed the tickets as a “money-maker” for the county and not an accident prevention feature.
“If we’re collecting $400,000 a month on seven intersections, we’re not changing behavior,” said Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge. “What we’ve done is create a fundraiser for government.”
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety points to a number of studies that demonstrate how red light cameras reduce violations and injuries. National data shows that in 2020, 928 people were killed and 116,000 people were injured in red-light crashes, the organization said.
The end of the red-light camera program comes about a year after Manatee paid about $730,000, including the cost of equipment and maintenance, to have eight additional cameras installed throughout the county.
Red-light cameras save lives, advocates say
According to data shared by county staff, the red-light camera program generated up to $350,000 per month in profit from tickets issued by deputies. Some of that money went to the state, but it also provided revenue for Manatee County Government.
Law enforcement officials stood by the red-light camera program. In a presentation last year, Sheriff Rick Wells said every video was reviewed by a trained deputy to ensure it was a “clear-cut” violation.
One of the deputies in charge of the program issued a stern warning, arguing that the end of the program would result in death or injury.
“You’re willing to take a chance on a pedestrian’s life, because that’s going to be the result of a right-hand turn on red,” Cpt. Stanley Schaeffer told the board in December.
Despite the end of Manatee’s red-light camera program, Wandall remains committed to pushing for safer streets throughout the state and the nation.
“It’s just unfortunate because somebody had to die in order to implement that program,” Wandall explained. “We live in a society where it’s OK to break safety laws, and that’s not OK because innocent people pay the ultimate price.”
County leaders say it’s possible that drivers could still receive citations in the mail while the program phases out, but those citations are not being processed by law enforcement. Anyone who receives a Notice of Violation in the mail can contact Manatee County Code Enforcement with any questions by calling (941) 748-2071.
This story was originally published October 25, 2022 at 3:48 PM.
