Philadelphia's red-light scofflaws catch a break - for the weekend

Red-light scofflaws, you just caught a break.

Philadelphia's red-light cameras were illegal over the weekend, and no tickets generated during that time will be sent to motorists.

The law that authorized the red-light cameras now in use at 20 intersections expired at 12:01 a.m. Saturday. Gov. Corbett did not sign the bill re-authorizing the cameras (and extending their use to Pittsburgh and Philadelphia suburban communities) until Monday evening.

So, if you ran a light in Philadelphia during that period and saw the ominous flash of the camera strobe, relax.

"The cameras are working, but any violations up until the governor's signing won't be processed," said Vincent J. Fenerty Jr., executive director of the Philadelphia Parking Authority, which operates the cameras.

Corbett's office said he signed the bill at 7:30 p.m.

While Philadelphia's red-light cameras were legal as soon as Corbett put ink on paper, the other communities authorized to apply for them must wait 90 days.

In Southeastern Pennsylvania, those municipalities are: Falls, Middletown and Warminster Townships in Bucks County; Springfield Township in Delaware County; and Norristown and Abington, Horsham, Lower Merion, Lower Providence, Montgomery, Upper Dublin and Upper Merion Townships in Montgomery County.