Motorists soon to be back on candid camera

   Motorists soon to be back on candid camera

Though the Gulf Breeze city council approved the leasing of a mini spy camera to monitor the running of the red light at the junction of U.S. Highway 98 and Daniel Drive, it might be months before the system is installed and active.

Police Chief Peter Paulding advised that “it’s going to take a month or two for the system to be up.”
Once, active, the tickets generated by the spy cameras will carry a $158 fine each.
Under the new contract with Sensys, the city will conduct the “back-office work” associated with ticketing, collecting, handling appeals and other aspects of the process. It is hoped the new contract will have the spy pen cameras active by the end of the year.
Paulding said the cameras – active for more than five years – have effectively reduced accidents at the busy intersection.
More than 6,000 tickets were issued and, even after the appeals process, more than $400,000 collected. According to Paulding, not every individual ticketed has paid the $100 fine.
“There is an appeals process, and the vast majority of the motorists ticketed appealed,” he said. “The process is very strident to ensure that only obvious violators are cited. Since the wireless spy cameras were up and running, more than 10,000 incidents were documented when cameras have gone off. Of those incidents, only a little more than 6,000 of the violations were cited.”
State law now requires that the city lease the equipment, not pay a percentage of collections. Under the former contract with Traffipax that’s now in dispute, Traffipax earned a percentage of collected fines and more than $400,000 remains in escrow from the first contract. The funds will not be dispersed to the two parties pending litigation.
Under the new contract, the city will pay Sensys $5,000 per month and fund the necessary software and continuous video of the intersection for a total cost of $6,000 per month. Each violation recorded is reviewed by the Gulf Breeze Police officer prior to the issuance of a fine.