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80 Orange County red-light cameras right on schedule, leaders say

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Orange County's effort to add more red-light cameras is right on schedule.

There are 10 intersections in Orange County with red light cameras.

Orange County officials released new data that shows they're doing exactly what they expected Monday afternoon -- "to increase safety and get people to slow down on yellow and stop on red and really decrease those high impact crashes," Krista Barber with the Orange County Traffic Engineering Division said.

The county's numbers show the cameras are working so well at reducing crashes and preventing drivers from running red lights that the county is now moving forward with adding 40 more.

Engineers studied the 10 locations over the last two years and found the average red light violations decreased by 25 percent, the number of crashes went down by 14 percent and the crash rates also dropped by 11 percent.

The new cameras are part of the $16 million plan Orange County Commissioners signed off on to add a total of 80 cameras over the next two years.

Driver Freddie Simmons is still not convinced.

Like many he sees the cameras simply as money makers.

"It's too many, really. At the bad intersections I can understand, but just putting them everywhere is getting ridiculous," Simmons said.

Leaders said the first seven cameras will be up by December.