Locals and visitors to the City of Miami Beach should be aware of the installation of red light cameras at nine major intersections. Photo enforcement of traffic safety regulations has been successfully contested in many US courts and criticized as a revenue-generating gimmick rather than a public safety innovation. Tickets with fines starting at $158 are mailed to the registered car owner based upon a computer generated photograph of the license plate rather than an actual traffic stop made by a police officer who can verify that a driver may have broken a law.
Cameras automatically photograph the rear of a vehicle and the license plate when a digital device detects the car is inside an intersection after the light turns red. The most frequent ticketed violation is not actually running a red light but failure to come to a full stop behind the painted line prior to executing a right turn while a light is red. Right turns on red are legal in Florida (unless otherwise posted) only after bringing the vehicle to a complete stop BEHIND the white line of the intersection.
To avoid a computer generated traffic violation showing up in your mailbox, drive safely and be extra careful of cameras monitoring the following Miami Beach intersections:
1. Washington Avenue at 17th Street – eastbound
2. Washington Avenue at 17th Street – southbound
3. Chase Avenue and Alton Road – northbound
4. 63rd Street and Indian Creek Drive – southbound
5. 41st Street and Prairie Avenue – northbound
6. 71st Street and Indian Creek Drive – northbound
7. Dade Boulevard and 23rd Street – westbound
8. Alton Road and 17th Street – westbound
