Wrong Driver Ticketed For Running Red Light

You don't have to run any red lights to get a ticket from the city of Orlando. Orlando's new red light cameras continue to confuse similar numbers or letters on license plates, like "O," "D" and "Q," and sending tickets to the wrong drivers.

For the second time in just the past month, Eyewitness News has met a driver who was ticketed for a red light he or she never ran.

When an Orlando red light camera was shooting the red light runner at Turkey Lake Road and Wallace Road (see map), Brett Howell says he was more than 100 miles away on the University of Florida campus. He doesn't even own a Honda, but he still got the $125 citation.

"I was just shocked. I wish I owned a new Honda Accord, but I don't. And I was nowhere near Orlando," Howell told Eyewitness News.

Howell's license plate is almost identical to the one in the red light camera photo, except a zero appears on Howell's plate where the rental car has a "Q." Also, the guilty car is a Honda; Howell drives a 1997 Nissan Pathfinder, which should have been a red flag.

"The letter reads as if there's no possibility you didn't run the red light," he said.

The city told Eyewitness News that is exactly why it has an appeal process. But it prefers to handle obvious errors like Howell's over the phone, so drivers can avoid an appeal.

Code enforcement said more mistakes are caught then missed.

Since Orlando began issuing citations for the ten intersections with cameras, 401 cases were voided without ever notifying drivers. But, with the volume of red light images coming in on a daily basis, errors can be made.

"We all want safer roads, fewer accidents, but not at the expense of innocent citizens," Howell said.

Howell's ticket was voided Monday afternoon, but since the city started writing citations it has voided 20 similar citations and code enforcement said it had recent conversations with its contractor about working harder to avoid that type of issue in the first place.

Previous Stories: January 15, 2009: Orlando Red Light Camera Nabs Wrong Driver