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Boynton Beach police say red light camera violations are on the rise

Posted at 10:58 PM, Nov 17, 2017
and last updated 2017-11-17 23:51:48-05

Red light cameras in Boynton Beach are raking in the green.

Those cameras have caught thousands of red-light runners in the past couple months, nearly 80 percent more than the same time last year.

Drivers from Boynton Beach, and others passing through said they know when they’re in the city, the red light cameras could catch them running the light.

It makes some drivers more cautious and careful, but the number of tickets suggest not everyone is getting the memo.

The cameras were shut off temporarily for eight months this year, but they were turned back on in September.

Boynton Beach police say in the first couple weeks of September, they gave out nearly 1,000 warnings to drivers.

After that through October, police said the cameras captured nearly 2,000 more drivers who were ticketed for running the red light.

“I don’t think anybody cares about the cameras, they just do what they do,” said driver Eric Montanez, from Lake Worth.

He said he got a red light ticket about a year ago, and afterwards, became more careful about running yellow lights.

“I am a little more careful now because I don’t want to get the ticket,” Montanez said.

The ticket runs $158.

“It was pretty up there,” Montanez said.

While there are plenty of critics of the cameras, considering them nothing more than a money-maker for the city, drivers like Shatayvia McDuffie do not have a problem with them.

“I don’t run red lights, so I’m okay,” McDuffie said. “I just think people should follow the rules, and everything will go perfectly.”
 
Boynton Beach is still the only local city in Palm Beach County using the cameras.

The city, in October, brought in about $12,000 from red light tickets. Not all of those tickets were issued in October. Some were paid from previous months after being fought in court.