Lilly, O'Toole & Brown Blog

Auto, Truck & Motor Vehicle Accidents

11/4/2008
Bob Grode, Attorney
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Red LIght Runners Beware

Beginning in January 2010 Lakeland will have an eye in the sky. Several eyes in fact, as cameras will be mounted on poles in eight different locations in Lakeland. The cameras will be located at intersections and will be used to catch people running red lights. It appears that this will allow one officer in essence to be at eight different locations at the same time. If a vehicle is determined to have run a red light then a ticket will be issued. If a ticket is not paid then a lien can be place on property owned by the person who owns the vehicle. The real issue here though is what happens if somebody else is using a person's car? The car doesn't get a ticket, the person does. So how does the police officer prove who was driving the car to enforce the ticket? This is probably not a big enough issue to concern Lakeland city commissioners, as most people will simply pay the ticket to avoid the hassle. But a legitimate argument can be made that the tickets will be unenforceable. How can the officer identify the driver? The driver has a right to remain silent and does not have to incriminate himself. Will the video be good enough to show the face of the driver? So good that the driver can be positively identified? By this time next year we should know.

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