Fact briefs: Ignoring red light tickets, and clearing intersections with red-light cameras
By Suncoast Searchlight
August 29, 2025 at 10:15 AM EDT
Suncoast Searchlight partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.
Will a red-light camera ticket go away by ignoring it?
No.
The longer a red light ticket is ignored, the worse the penalties become.
Violators initially have 60 days to pay a red light camera ticket in the city of Sarasota, which costs $158. A ticket gets issued if a motorist drives past the white stop line after the light has turned red.
Ignoring the ticket past the 60-day window will upgrade the offense to a Uniform Traffic Citation. This means the cost will increase to $264. Ignoring that upgraded citation will result in a driver’s license suspension.
There are exceptions, however. Those ticketed can file for an exemption if it can be proven the car was driven by someone else at the time of violation, an officer has already issued a ticket for the same violation, the driver passed the stop line to yield to emergency vehicles, or if they were following the instructions of a law enforcement officer.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
-Clinton Engelberger
Do red-light cameras ticket drivers for not clearing wide intersections?
No.
Red light cameras in Sarasota County and elsewhere flag only drivers who enter the intersection after the light turns red — not those who entered the intersection before the light turned red and may be still making their way through it.
Therefore, the size of the intersection doesn’t matter; as long as you cross the white line while the light is still green or yellow, you shouldn’t get ticketed.
What does matter is the duration of the yellow light — and your ability to stop or enter the intersection before it turns red. And the duration depends on the posted speed limit. In general, the faster the speed limit, the longer the yellow.
For example, drivers might get 3-4 seconds of yellow on a 25-mph street but 5-6 seconds on a 55-mph street. Transportation engineers use a formula to set these durations so drivers can either stop safely or clear the intersection.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
-Clinton Engelberger
Suncoast Searchlight partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.
This story was originally published by Suncoast Searchlight, a nonprofit newsroom delivering investigative journalism to Sarasota, Manatee, and DeSoto counties. Learn more at suncoastsearchlight.org.
No.
The longer a red light ticket is ignored, the worse the penalties become.
Violators initially have 60 days to pay a red light camera ticket in the city of Sarasota, which costs $158. A ticket gets issued if a motorist drives past the white stop line after the light has turned red.
Ignoring the ticket past the 60-day window will upgrade the offense to a Uniform Traffic Citation. This means the cost will increase to $264. Ignoring that upgraded citation will result in a driver’s license suspension.
There are exceptions, however. Those ticketed can file for an exemption if it can be proven the car was driven by someone else at the time of violation, an officer has already issued a ticket for the same violation, the driver passed the stop line to yield to emergency vehicles, or if they were following the instructions of a law enforcement officer.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
-Clinton Engelberger
Do red-light cameras ticket drivers for not clearing wide intersections?
No.
Red light cameras in Sarasota County and elsewhere flag only drivers who enter the intersection after the light turns red — not those who entered the intersection before the light turned red and may be still making their way through it.
Therefore, the size of the intersection doesn’t matter; as long as you cross the white line while the light is still green or yellow, you shouldn’t get ticketed.
What does matter is the duration of the yellow light — and your ability to stop or enter the intersection before it turns red. And the duration depends on the posted speed limit. In general, the faster the speed limit, the longer the yellow.
For example, drivers might get 3-4 seconds of yellow on a 25-mph street but 5-6 seconds on a 55-mph street. Transportation engineers use a formula to set these durations so drivers can either stop safely or clear the intersection.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
-Clinton Engelberger
Suncoast Searchlight partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.
This story was originally published by Suncoast Searchlight, a nonprofit newsroom delivering investigative journalism to Sarasota, Manatee, and DeSoto counties. Learn more at suncoastsearchlight.org.