A fiercely determined widow turned traffic safety advocate is declaring victory after conservative Republicans failed to ban red light cameras in Florida.
A bill to ban red light cameras was in front of the House Appropriations Committee last month when Melissa Wandall stepped to the microphone with a history lesson.
She reminded committee members the Legislature authorized cameras three years ago in a law named after her husband, the victim of a red-light runner.
“The red light safety cameras have a name. It’s the Mark Wandall Traffic Safety Act. And somebody had to die in order to implement this safety act.”
Wandall lost the battle when the bill passed the House. She won the war when it stalled in the Senate. Now she’s breathing a sigh of relief.
“Well, I just feel another sense of renewed hope. You know, I never let myself get down. The day that brought me down was the day my husband was killed by a red-light runner. You know, two weeks before our daughter was born.”
Critics of red light cameras cite statistics showing accidents actually increase at some intersections that have them. They say the cameras are nothing more than an ATM for local governments.
In a sense, Wandall says, it is about the money. The Mark Wandall Traffic Safety Act diverts some of the proceeds from the tickets to the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis and the state’s Level 1 trauma centers.
“I’d love people to understand that. And I would encourage people to understand that if you are not running a red light, you will not be ticketed by a red light safety camera.”
Wandall says she’ll be back if lawmakers try to another repeal next year.
