 "Photo: Emre Kelly")
A new ordinance from the City of Oviedo aims to enforce red light-running and prevent accidents by installing cameras to patrol busy intersections.
Alafaya Trail and Mitchell Hammock Road, an intersection that students use to travel to Oviedo and Altamonte Springs, is one of the three intersections being considered for the cameras. Drivers who are caught running a red light on camera could be charged $150, said Oviedo Chief of Police Jeffrey Chudnow.
Should the second reading of the ordinance pass at the Oviedo City Council meeting on March 1, the city would begin negotiating with a vendor to move forward with camera installation.
Chudnow said that if the ordinance passes, students and residents could expect to see cameras within six to nine months.
The intersection, chosen because of its accident history, was the top crash location in Oviedo with 47 accidents, according to the 2008 Seminole County Traffic Engineering Division's annual crash report. The other two planned locations of the cameras are the second and third most popular crash locations in Oviedo.
"The speeds of Alafaya and Mitchell Hammock have the propensity for the middle of the intersection to cause the most damage and bodily injury," Chudnow said.
The cameras, which would record the date and time elapsed since the light turned red, would be triggered when cars enter the intersection after the light changed to red.
According to the ordinance, the cameras would also monitor drivers turning right on red. In order to avoid a fine, drivers would have to come to a complete stop behind the stop bar, not in or after the crosswalk, before turning.
Chudnow said that the red light-running footage would be reviewed by the company that installs the cameras. The violations would then be given to Oviedo police, who would determine whether or not to fine the driver.
"It's using technology to best benefit the safety of an intersection," Chudnow said. "Our main goal is to reduce intersection crashes and save lives."
However, not all UCF students are in favor of the cameras, which have provoked lawsuits throughout the state for allegedly invading privacy and violating due process.
Alison King, a junior music education major who lives in Oviedo, said she drives through the intersection at least three times a week to get to work.
She said that she slows down at intersections with cameras, but isn't sure how effective they really are.
"I do stop more when I see the cameras," she said. "But I've never met anyone who's gotten a ticket from a red light camera. I think it's more of a threat than a follow-through thing."
Dana Bakich, a junior advertising/public relations major, said she doesn't think that the cameras should replace patrolling officers because cameras could fail.
"Technology is not always perfect," said Bakich.
Although UCF has security cameras throughout campus, there aren't any traffic monitoring cameras.
"UCF has not considered adding red-light cameras, and we do not foresee doing so in the near future," said Christine Dellert of UCF News & Information.
is a member of the 
6 comments
Section 316.002, 316.007 and 316.008, as well as our Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights of the United States Constitution state that these red light cameras are illegal. Pursuant to the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution which states in part: that I can’t be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law. Therefore, these red light cameras also consider me guilty until proven innocent, which is also illegal in this country. Pursuant to the Sixth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States, which in part states the following: "that all citizens have the right to be confronted with the witnesses against him" Thus, these red light cameras are also illegal due to the fact that all citizens of the United States have the right to face their accuser in court. With these cameras, we are denied due process of law as the right to face ones accuser is denied, thus they are illegal!The Florida department of Transportation (FDOT) in a letter dated, 8/28/2007, has deemed these red light cameras are illegal in the state of Florida. Governor Charlie Christ, in a letter dated 7/15/2005 has also deemed them to be illegal as well as Attorney General Bill McCollum and more recently, Judge Bagley in Miami-Dade County Florida who has recently ruled they are illegal. In addition, there is no way to verify who was actually driving the vehicle.Studies done by the University of South Florida, and the National Motorists Association, as well as many other studies show red light cameras actually do more harm than good. In closing, only the state legislature can pass traffic laws, and if it really is a safety issue, right turns should altogether be made illegal when a light is red. I also have no problem whatsoever with stopping citizens from breaking the law, but every American’s rights must be preserved in the process. Breaking the law to "enforce" the law, and hiding the real motive has nothing to do with safety.Michael Williams