Ocala, FL Mobility & Curb Rules: Red-Light Cameras (2026)

Chapter 66, Article VII of the Code of Ordinances, adopted by Ordinance No. 5970 in 2009, authorizes traffic control signal monitoring systems, unmanned still or video cameras paired with vehicle sensors, to record vehicles that enter an intersection against a steady red light. Section 66-171 makes clear the cameras supplement rather than replace normal police enforcement of red light violations. A vehicle owner identified from recorded images receives a notice of infraction under sections 66-176 and 66-177 after a designated traffic control infraction review officer, qualified under Florida Statutes section 316.640(5)(a), confirms the images and equipment functioned properly.

Section 66-178 gives the owner 21 days to pay the civil penalty or request a hearing before a special magistrate; failing to act within that window is treated as an admission of liability. Section 66-179 lists specific defenses a magistrate must consider, including that another driver had the vehicle without the owner's consent (backed by a notarized affidavit under section 66-180), that the driver was separately cited by an officer for the same red light violation, that the signal was malfunctioning, or that running the light was necessary to comply with other law or avoid harming a person or property.

Section 66-183 exempts collisions and authorized emergency vehicles responding to bona fide emergencies from the program, and bars double punishment where an officer already issued a state traffic citation for the same violation. The article covers red light signal enforcement only; it contains no separate provision authorizing school-zone speed cameras.