By Brian McBride
Associate Editor

Taking advantage of the Florida Legislature’s approval of red light running cameras this year, the Kissimmee City Commission at its meeting Tuesday moved forward with acquiring the traffic devices by instructing staff to seek out potential vendors.

City staff will develop a request for qualifications to identify potential vendors and then return to the commission with a recommendation. According to city data, staff has already engaged in preliminary research regarding the technical requirements for installation and operation of a red light running system. However, while there are a variety of vendors nationally who may be able to provide planning and installation services, process could take several months to complete, city officials said.

“Let’s get ‘er done,” Mayor Jim Swan said.

The fine for red light running in Kissimmee is $231.

In May, Gov. Charlie Crist signed House Bill 325, the Mark Wandall Traffic Safety Act, which permitted the statewide use of cameras as traffic enforcement devices. The bill was named after Mark Wandall, of Bradenton, who died in 2003, when a fellow motorist ran a light a little more than a mile from his home. Crist held the signing ceremony in Bradenton where he was joined by Wandall’s wife, Melissa Wandall. State Rep Ron Reagan, R- Bradenton, sponsored the bill.

“When we have an opportunity to make our roads safer and more secure for Floridians and visitors, it is imperative to act,” Crist said in a May press release. “I am confident this legislation further empowers law enforcement to combat red-light running in Florida, inevitably saving lives. I commend Melissa, and the law enforcement community, for advocating for this potentially live-saving bill.”

A portion of the funds from traffic fines will go to the Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Trust Fund, which supports the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 762 people were killed in crashes related to red light running in 2008, and another estimated 137,000 were injured. About half of the deaths in red light running crashes are pedestrians and occupants in other vehicles who are hit by the red light runners.

Cameras have been shown to substantially reduce red light violations, according to institute studies in Fairfax, Va., and Oxnard, Calif. Camera en-forcement reduced red light running violations by about 40 percent, studies showed.

In addition to reducing red light violations, cameras have been shown to reduce intersection crashes. In Oxnard, significant citywide crash reductions followed the introduction of red light cameras, and injury crashes at intersections with traffic signals were reduced by 29 percent.

But according to recent published reports, nearly 1,000 motorists in south Florida have filed 18 lawsuits against the cameras, saying the devices are unconstitutional because they force drivers to prove their innocence rather than the government to prove their guilt.

Institute officials said that opponents of photo enforcement raise this issue frequently. Photo enforcement does not violate the presumption of innocence, which attaches at trial, institute officials said. And ethics prevent police and prosecutors from charging a person unless there is sufficient evidence, the agency website stated.

The majority of the U.S. public supported red light cameras, the institute website showed. A 2000 institute survey in 10 cities – five with cameras and five without – reported that more than 75 percent of drivers supported camera enforcement. And a 2002 nationwide survey sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and conducted by the Gallup Organization found that 75 percent of drivers favored the use of red light cameras.

In other city business, the City Commission approved an employment contract with Deputy City Manager Mike Steigerwald for city manager. Current City Manager Mark Durbin is retiring Aug. 31 after 23 years on the job. Steigerwald will make $129,950 a year.