WINTER PARK, Fla. – The city of Winter Park will be refunding more than 500 drivers who received citations from red-light cameras because the duration of the yellow light was shorter than state requirements, a city spokeswoman confirms.
Last year, the Florida Department of Transportation updated its traffic light guidelines by adding about a half second to the minimum duration of yellow lights.
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Under the new rules, a yellow light must last 4.8 seconds instead of the previously-required 4.3 seconds on a road with a 45 mph speed limit.
The new state requirement went into effect Jan. 1 for intersections that use red-light enforcement cameras. However, Winter Park did not update their traffic lights until Feb. 7.
Winter Park is now throwing out more than 500 citations issued during that period and mailing refunds that could total more than $80,000, according to city officials.
The intersections that had not been updated with the new yellow light durations are Lee Road and 17-92, Lakemont Avenue and Aloma Avenue, Howell Branch Road and Temple Trail, and Howell Branch Road and Temple Drive.
All traffic lights in Winter Park with camera enforcement have now been updated to comply with the state requirements, according to city officials. Red-light violators must pay a $158 fine.