Port Richey eyes red light cameras

PORT RICHEY - The city of Port Richey may be small, but it has a big problem: U.S. 19.

"You're going to have crashes on Highway 19 -- it's a very dangerous road," said Police Chief Dave Brown.

The city says it found a small solution -- a camera. The camera monitors traffic in the southbound lane of U.S. 19 and snaps a picture when people run the red light.

According to the chief, the camera works.

"Less crashes and less injuries and that's the whole purpose of that camera is to indeed make you a better driver," Brown said.

Other intersections along U.S. 19 will soon come under the watchful eye of the camera. An additional camera was installed last week across the street from the original camera. Two more will go up a mile away at U.S. 19 and Grand Boulevard.

By month's end, the one-square mile city will have six cameras. Defense attorneys say the cameras have nothing to do with dangerous streets by dollar signs.

"Right now, unfortunately, it's a sign of the economy, and I think that all our cities and municipalities are struggling for money and they are looking for ways to make revenue," said Aaron Slavin, a criminal defense attorney in Clearwater.

He may have a point: Port Richey has generated nearly a quarter million dollars worth of fines since the first camera went up in April of 2008. But the red light camera may not exactly be a pot of gold, if challenged. Anyone hauled into court has the right to confront the witnesses against them, and cameras do not talk.

Port Richey's cameras come from a company in Maryland. Slavin points out it could get expensive for the city to fly in company experts to testify about their system.

"In this type of scenario, if somebody wanted to challenge the traffic enforcement, the camera angles, the installation, the distance, speed, things of that nature, and it was an out-of-state agency and attorney could make the state jump through a number of hoops proving that ticket," he said.

The problem is that some people may be unwilling to take the time and expense to challenge a $125.00 ticket that does not appear on a driving record.

"It's very expensive and time consuming," Slavin said. "Unless you take a really principled stance, most people are going to say 'I got a traffic ticket, it's $200 bucks, I go to work, if I take off from work I'm going to lose that money.'"

As a result more cameras are likely coming to a city near you.