November 22, 2025

Pensacola Red Light Cameras Issue More Than 26,000 Citations

By: Rick McCann
Blue RAM Media/Gulf Coast News

November 22, 2025

PENSACOLA, Fla. The City of Pensacola installed new red-light cameras at the beginning of the year, and they have already issued more than 26,000 citations!

The city has more than recouped the initial investment, bringing in thousands of dollars from the fines issued.

Surprisingly, only five drivers contested their tickets and requested a court hearing, but only one of those showed up for their court hearing.

“My whole motion to dismiss is with the setup of the intersection,” Defendant Spencer Poll said.

The driver who did appear argued the warning signs do not follow the Florida Department of Transportation guidelines.

“But this intersection, your honor, does not have a right-side vertical mass,” Poll added. “The left side is always optional. So, they’ve been granted an exemption to move it from the far right side to the far right vertical mass, which there is none.”

But the magistrate sided with the city after police presented FDOT-approved documentation confirming approval of the sign location.

“I’m going to uphold the violation of the law,” Magistrate Judge Ralph Peterson said. “The evidence presented shows all the specs, and shows what’s required by FDOT, and also shows what has been waived by FDOT in their approvals.”

In the end, all five citations were upheld.

Authorities said that any driver who requests a hearing and loses, whether they show up or not, must pay not just the $158 violation but also a $137 administrative fee.

The Pensacola Police Department says that all citations are reviewed by a human, not just the camera system, before going out, which reduces the number of people willing to contest the citation.

“We really want people to pay attention to life, but we also are doing our homework,” Pensacola Police Department PIO Greg Gordon said. “We’re following up. We’re making sure that every violation is true and accurate.”

“It just shows that we need people, the citizens, and anyone visiting Pensacola to really pay attention to our traffic signals and the traffic laws,” Gordon said. “It affects everyone in the end.”