I once lived near a school zone with signs posted that read “School Zone. Speed Limit 20 mph when children present” and I thought it was too vague. The way that the sign was worded, a child nearby at 2 am on Christmas morning would trigger the 20 mph speed limit.
That’s the problem that many drivers have in Florida since a new law allowing traffic cameras to enforce school zones went into effect. The signs read “School Zone Speed Limit 20 mph when flashing,” but there is no requirement for the light to actually be flashing in order for a driver to get a ticket. In fact, the sign doesn’t even have to have a light on it.
But Weaver doesn’t dispute that it was him behind the wheel or that he was going over the 20 mph zone limit, he believes the violation was issued to him in error.
“I’m not happy, I’m not happy,” he said.
That’s because what the camera doesn’t show is the speed limit sign that’s posted warning drivers that the speed limit is 20 mph “when flashing,” wasn’t flashing at the time.
In fact, it can’t.
“There’s not a device that would afford a light to flash because they did not attach a lighting system or flashing system to this particular post,” he explained.
People are contesting the fines, but the judges are upholding them 90% of the time. The judges are claiming that the law says the sign has to either have times that the speed limit is in effect, or it has to have the words “When flashing,” but showing a complete lack of sense, the same judges claim that their hands are tied because the law doesn’t require that the lights be flashing, or even present.
A single company called RedSpeed is responsible for the cameras. So far, the company’s cameras have written half a million tickets. About 3,000 of them have been contested, and only 300 of them have been dismissed. Since the fine is $100 and the company gets 20% of it, it’s quite a lucrative shakedown.
The officers of the corporation? They are retired cops. One of them (a retired assistant police chief of Miami Beach) had this to say:
“I’m sympathetic with the ‘I didn’t understand the signage in the school zone.’ I’m sympathetic to that, but we have to implement and install in compliance with whatever [the Florida Department of Transportation] and the state tell us,” De La Espriella said.
When asked if he believes the law, as it’s written right now, is fair to drivers, he responded, “I think it’s an excellent law.”
I bet you do, you corrupt piece of shit. Where does the law say to entrap people by putting “when flashing” on the sign, but having no flashing light? We all know that isn’t what the law intended, you weasel. I am ready to vote against every single proposed law or politician who wants to make a law favoring any cop. I am on the verge of agreeing with the “defund the police” assholes.
Don’t forget that Miami Beach is where open carriers were arrested and won a lawsuit for stopping people who weren’t breaking the law.
If one of those signs in your area happens to get vandalized or destroyed in the middle of the night, you didn’t see shit.
17 Comments
Bigus Macus · August 8, 2025 at 5:37 am
It’s all automated now, No cops just radars and cameras here in Hampton Roads. I got a ticket for $100 in the mail this week. Shows my car and the flashing school zone light.
Aesop · August 8, 2025 at 5:55 am
Forget the signs, they’re not the problem.
Take out the cameras.
Problem over.
Bonus points if you get an identical make and model of the mayor’s/Chief of Police’s car, make quality fake license plates, and rack up 500 violations apiece, and wait for the hilarity. Do a couple of local news anchors’ cars just to rub it in. Nothing like a 20-week investigative report on traffic camera corruption 7 nights a week for 6 months to get things fixed.
Honk Hon · August 8, 2025 at 6:21 am
You can find rainbow Village People agitprop outside the local school.
I pick it up and put in trash.
Could you imagine being one of those dullards who thin that society cares about your children.
Dan · August 8, 2025 at 2:01 pm
Traffic tickets are not up and have NEVER been about safety. They are about money. Nothing more. Since the criminals in charge won’t actually address this problem then itu up to the citizens. Render the systems permanently inoperative. Repeat as needed till the problem is solved.
Steve · August 8, 2025 at 6:32 am
This reminds me of the red light cameras in Charlotte. The company was splitting with Charlotte and Charlotte had already written the $3-5 million projected fines into next year’s city budget. Charlotte also reduced the yellow light to 1 1/2 seconds so you’d be sure to trigger the red light camera (They are like this today). Then the NC Supreme Court had to declare that ticketing scam unconstitutional so Wahh Wahh, Charlotte didn’t get the ticket money, and “We had already allocated the money. How are we going to make up the shortfall?”
J J · August 8, 2025 at 7:54 am
In Texas the traffic camera tickets lost in the TX Supreme Court due to the law stating that tickets can only be written by licensed officers and the camera system is not a licensed officer.
SiG · August 8, 2025 at 8:03 am
There’s just so much wrong with this, it’s hard to say who’s worse. The morons who wrote the law are pretty bad, and the legislature is full of them. The judges who haven’t kicked it out over not actually requiring there to be a light to be flashing are even worse. How can a sign that says “School Zone Speed Limit 20 mph when flashing,” possibly be considered to be applying when there’s not even a light to flash? The cops doing the enforcing are bad, but the whole stack is useless.
It’s as bad as “School Zone Speed Limit 20 mph when we feel like it” or “Speed limit 20 mph when we’re low on funds.”
Igor · August 8, 2025 at 10:19 am
Methinks the camera system may malfunction once a small piece of copper-jacketed lead traveling at speed happens to intersect it.
That, or a can of spray paint. Maybe a 5KW laser zorching the optics, perhaps…
There are ways.
TRX · August 8, 2025 at 8:55 pm
Texas was the first US state to introduce speed cameras. The system was called ORBIS, and went live in the 1960s.
The systems are fairly bulky, and housed in large cabinets for fixed installations or small trailers for portable ones. It only lasted a year or so due to the “lead problem” or improvising Texans simply covered the lenses with mud or spray paint.
Boneman · August 8, 2025 at 10:42 am
There are areas in Cape Coral that I utterly refuse to drive through now because of the implementation of this bullshit.
This is one MASSIVE class action lawsuit waiting to happen and in this case, it’s one I would support. Sadly, the perpetrators (company owners you have identified) won’t be on the hook… more like the taxpayers of the jurisdictions that have installed these systems.
Unfortunately, they seem to be wildly popular with City Councils… It’s jumping across the river from Cape Coral and I see Ft. Myers is looking in to installing them on McGregor Blvd.
George Orwell utterly UNDERESTIMATED the level of surveillance methinks….
TRX · August 8, 2025 at 11:45 am
The first ticket I ever got was for doing 45mph in a 35 zone, which was actually a school zone, so it was really 25mph.
The problem was, I was riding an enduro bike along the right shoulder at about 10mph, looking for a trail into a nearby wooded area. This apparently enraged Officer Friendly, who wrote 45mph on the ticket, with a multiplier for “school zone.”
Problems with that were:
A) it was near, but not actually in a school zone
B) it was mid-summer, and school was not in session
C) it was a Saturday, and there would have been no school anyway
When I pointed this out, Officer Friendly offered to break my arm to teach me not to smart off at the police.
I was 13 years old. (yes, I had a proper motorcycle operator’s permit; 13 was legal then) My Dad chose to pay the ticket rather than butt heads with the police. Since it would have been “he said, he said”, probably the wisest course, though I was considerably outraged at the time.
Most of my encounters with the jackbooted thugs have been similar. Officer Friendly became the local chief of police, and eventually State Sheriff. I guess he “had what it takes” for the job. Takes big cojones to jack up a 13 year old kid because you’re bored during traffic patrol.
Don Curton · August 8, 2025 at 12:11 pm
Don’t forget that those automated cameras aren’t 100% perfect either. Apparently there was a car with a license plate close enough to mine (or illegally altered, you never know) that the plate readers would scan it and get my plate number. For several years, about every 4 or 5 months I’d get an automated ticket from a town 500 miles away, I town I’ve never visited. Speeding, with plate number, and picture of a car that is nothing like mine. I’d have to take several hours out of my life to place multiple phone calls, try to convince someone that wasn’t me, get mailed an affidavit, sign and return it, just to avoid a fine that never should have been mailed to me anyway. Yet they always tell us that each and every violation is reviewed by a real person prior to mailing them out.
TRX · August 8, 2025 at 9:00 pm
A friend of mine dealt with that for years. Supposedly he had a moving violation in Massachussetts. The thing was, he had never *been* to Massachussetts, nor (as far as he knew) had any of his vehicles. Attempting to deal with the Massachussetts authorities always devolved down to, “we don’t care, send us the money.”
When Massachussetts enters a ‘driver’s compact’ with his state, his Mississippi driver’s license was suspended for non-payment of the Massachussetts fine. He wound up paying it – several thousand dollars by that time – because he needed to drive to get to work, and every lawyer he talked to said it would cost more than the fine to try to fight it, plus his license might stay revoked for a year or more before they got to court.
Don Curton · August 10, 2025 at 9:02 am
Wow. Guess I was lucky it was still in the same state.
Jester · August 8, 2025 at 3:29 pm
Quite honestly any politican of any level that votes or otherwise wants traffic cameras installed I’m going to vote out or against. But as stated corrupt lobbyests, corrupt company owners state we don’t need a whole lot of cops to make us all a whole lot of money.
Rick · August 8, 2025 at 4:00 pm
Other states had used the cameras provided by Redspeed.
(Actually, I think Redspeed is a state-specific iteration of an umbrella corp. I seem to recall the name of Red light used in other states. Nonetheless, the modus operandi is the same.)
Though the company does take a high percentage (40% IIRC) the company is a moneymaker to the state.
Other states kicked the company out The reasons are apparent and obvious.
FLA needs to follow suit.
Dirty Dingus McGee · August 8, 2025 at 7:56 pm
I have been informed that the item in the attached link is quite effective at rendering those type of camera inoperative.Allegedly.
I have been told that the .22 is quite sufficient.
https://www.pyramydair.com/product/beeman-raider-pcp-air-rifle?m=6325
You will also need a pump to recharge it. The hand pump takes about 10 minutes (or so I have heard).
Comments are closed.