Clearing up red light rumors

The Hillsborough Sheriff's Office says an e-mail circulating that offers some warnings about the county's six new red light cameras is a modern-day chain letter.

The anonymous e-mail, forwarded extensively this past week, claims drivers will be ticketed if their front wheels merely roll past the solid white line at an intersection.

Cpl. Darrin Barlow, with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, says that information is wrong.

"All it does in instill fear in people and misinformation," Barlow said. "If you come up and you stop and your tires are on the line, slightly over the line, it's not going to be a violation," he said.

Another part of the message claims drivers making a legal right turn on red will be ticketed if they don't come to a complete stop. That is also false, according to Barlow.

"You will not get a violation for rolling through at 15 miles an hour or less," he said. "You're fine."

Barlow said the mail's claim that unpaid tickets will lead to a lien on homes is also incorrect.

"There are no ramifications on your house," he said.

A new version of the e-mail contains a paragraph suggesting the sheriff's office has recently tinkered with the timing of traffic lights. Yellow lights are two seconds shorter, according to the author.

"Not true," said Barlow. "Our equipment doesn't even interface with traffic control equipment whatsoever."

The sheriff's office is currently issuing warnings. Full-fledged citations begin going out late next month.

Barlow said there's one easy way to ensure nothing in the even e-mail matters to drivers: stop on red.