Only 25% accuracy from red light cameras!! how are they working if 75% are rejected? that means that the red light cameras are wrong 75% of the time and there was no violation. If the cameras were really working, citations would go down, right? meaning the intersection is now safer, but the city view it as successful if the red light cameras generate more revenue, not reduce red light running. That point was clearly made in the article in the St Pete Times a few weeks ago, saying "Tampa's red light cameras are more productive than St Petersburg" because they have generated more revenue. Red light cameras do not make anything more safe. They actually make the intersections more dangerous from the over reactions of drivers, slamming on the brakes etc.

Chuck Harmon is surely pleased over the increased revenue from red light cameras after numerous cuts were made to the SPPD prior to their installation. The cameras only go off right as the light changes, not during the time of the red light; which is when the most dangerous accidents occur. Red light cameras=revenue. I've also seen people slam on their brakes to avoid getting a ticket-is that safety or increased paranoia? Money talks.

I was stopped at the 22nd Ave. N. and 4th St intersection yesterday when I saw a man in a blue classic car drive right through after the light turned red, no hesitation on his part, and he was looking straight ahead, no cell phone or other distractions. Then I realized why he wasn't concerned, he had out of state plates, which means he doesn't have to pay the red light camera ticket because it's unenforceable on out-of-state drivers.

This leads to one of the things that the police chief didn't mention, the payment rate on these red light camera citations averages only 68% in other Pinellas County municipalities that have them(and that is only greater-than-6-month aged citations).

Oh, and another reason the rejection rates are so high is that the 3,000 city-owned vehicles seem to be immune from receiving citations.

Red light cameras are working. Really? This is the second article that I have seen praising the performance of the "red light cameras". I thought the St. Pete City Council emphasized that this was all about safety and not revenue. Well, we can see that this was just a "line" to put over on the public. Neither article even mentioned safety or reduced accidents but focused totally on the revenue. And, it appears that we think it is good that the number of citations (read revenue) has gone up. Excuse me. How has safety increased if the number of citations is growing? I too have witnesed people slaming on their brakes in a dangerous fashion to avoid the possibility of a ticket. Is this a good thing? This is nothing but a revenue tool and many cities accross the country have tried this and later removed the cameras. Our council was aware of this data but chose to ignore it. Just one more poorly thought out revenue effort. Safety is not part of the equation here. I wonder, too, if we have reduced the duration of the yellow lights, as many other cities did in their revenue pursuits.

This is Bull$hite! We are sheep waiting to be fleeced! After being through re-distribution by our Marxist President we have to sit idley by and get raked out of our savings by the city!

The cameras (indirectly) block emergency vehicles - because cars stopped at a camera hesitate to get out of the way! Other side effects: Rearenders, $$$ sent to Oz, AZ or Goldman-Sachs, where it won't come back, and tourists and shoppers driven away.
Worse, a false expectation of safety, because cameras can't stop the real late runners, who cause the accidents. (If cameras worked, camera sellers wouldn't have the crash videos they supply to the media.)
Want safety, no side effects?
To cut car/pedestrian accidents, train your kids not to step out just 'cuz the walk sign came on.
To cut nuisance running (a fraction of a second late), lengthen the yellows. It's cheap to do so can be done all over town.
The dangerous real late (multiple seconds) runs won't be stopped by the mere presence of a camera, because the runner won't know (a tourist) or won't remember (a distracted or impaired "local") that there's a camera up ahead. They're not doing it on purpose! To cut these real late runs, improve the visual cues that say, "Intersection ahead." Florida's DOT found that better pavement markings (paint!) cut running by up to 74%. Make the signal lights bigger, add backboards, and put the poles on the NEAR side of the corner. Put brighter bulbs in the street lights at intersections. Put up lighted name signs for the cross streets.
Who needs cameras and their side effects?

Are you people serious?!?! So the cameras are at fault here???? Look, if you are granted a driver's license, you have been given the right to drive WITHIN THE GUIDELINES OF THE LAW. That means that you STOP at red lights. If you're making a right turn, you STILL HAVE TO STOP. You can't just roll on through like you own the street. I drive, but I also ride my bicycle a lot, and I can honestly say that about a dozen times I've almost been hit by people who don't seem to care about observing the laws; they're too busy texting and talking on their cell phones to FOCUS on their operation of a 2000 pound death machine. The dismissal of 75% of the violations is a freebie given to these unattentive drivers by the city. THEY SAY THEY'RE NOT TICKETING 'SLOW ROLLERS!' They review each violation and make a judgement based on clear video evidence. Just come to a stop and you'll be OK.
And for the argument about people slamming on their brakes to avoid a citation: at every intersection the dotted white lines which separate traffic lanes become solid white lines as you approach the light. These lines are the correct length to provide ample time to stop when the light turns yellow, depending on what the speed limit on a particular road may be. The problem is that people don't drive the speed limit. IT'S A LIMIT, NOT A SUGGESTION! It's not OK to drive 5 mph over the LIMIT! If people started driving more responsibly, SLOW DOWN, and pay more attention, the cameras wouldn't have been needed.