Los Angeles - LOS ANGELES - As the Los Angeles City Council prepares to vote this week on the future of the city's critical traffic safety camera program, the Traffic Safety Coalition is outlining 10 reasons why the program should stay:

1. ZERO Crash Fatalities: Following safety camera installation, the Los Angeles Police Department crash reports, between 2002 and 2009 since the Photo Red Light Camera program began, NO fatal crashes have occurred at any of the camera enforced intersection approaches.
2. Safety cameras have worked to make Los Angeles streets safer. There has been a 62 percent decrease in red light related traffic collisions at the 32 intersections where the cameras are installed, with no significant increase in rear end collisions.
3. Safety cameras change driving behavior citywide. In Los Angeles there was a 22% reduction in crashes citywide after deployment.
4. Deadly consequences of dangerous driving in California. 3,000 people are killed in the California roadways every year (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration).
5. Red light running kills. 66 percent of all people killed at intersection crashes are victims of red light runners. The victims are innocent drivers, passengers, pedestrians and bicyclists. (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 2011).
6. Red light running increased in Houston when cameras went dark. After intersection safety cameras were turned off in Houston, police cited injury crashes were up 350 percent after deactivation and one Houston intersection saw a 1,300% increase in crashes following camera deactivation. (“Exclusive: Accidents way up with red light cameras off.” KTRK ABC 13 Houston, 8-June-2011)
7. Speeding and red light running increased in Albuquerque when cameras were removed. Red light running and speeding increased by 584 percent after intersection safety cameras were turned off at three Albuquerque intersections just five months ago (“Scary stats with red light cameras off,” KRQE News 7, 5/27/11).
8. Speeding increased in Scottsdale when cameras were turned off. When speed safety cameras were turned off on Scottsdale's State Loop 101, the number of drivers speeding increased 1,024 percent (Washington et al., "Evaluation of the City of Scottsdale Loop 101 Photo Enforcement Demonstration Program, Arizona State University." Nov 2007).
9. Safety cameras reduce fatal crashes nationwide. A 2011 report from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety concluded traffic safety cameras at the 14 largest U.S. cities using them reduced fatal red light running crashes by 24 percent (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 2011).
10. Simply put, safety cameras reduce red light running and speeding, change driver behavior and save lives.

"It's a sad reality that when drivers are not held accountable for their actions, speeding and red light running increases dramatically as they ignore our traffic safety laws, putting everyone in danger," said Traffic Safety Coalition co-chairs Paul and Sue Oberhauser. “Cities should be taking advantage of red light cameras and every other technology available to ensure these laws are followed and enforced.”

About the Traffic Safety Coalition:
The Traffic Safety Coalition is a not-for-profit, grassroots organization comprised of concerned citizens, traffic safety experts, law enforcement, public officials, victim's advocates, health care professionals, and industry leaders who are committed to working together to make our roads safer for drivers, passengers, and pedestrians. We work with our partners throughout the country to promote technology and education that save lives and keep our roads safe. For more information, visit www.trafficsafetycoalition.com.

Even if Los Angeles Shuts Down Red Light Don’t Forget About the Ticket You Already Have

The Los Angeles City Council has announced plans to stop using cameras to enforce red light violators at numerous intersections throughout the city. While many are rejoicing that the cameras may be shut down by the end of June, don’t forget about the red light camera ticket you currently have!

The program ending would prevent future red light camera tickets from being issued. However, don’t assume that any current red light camera tickets you have from the City of Los Angeles will just automatically vanish. If the current red light camera system ends these tickets will still be prosecuted. To avoid potential problems just be sure to follow up on any outstanding tickets. You can always check the status of your ticket on the court website to see if it is still active or closed. Remember, if the ticket is already filed and active with the court before the city’s red light program ends (assuming it does) then it may not automatically be dropped. If you don’t follow up on the ticket it may go to collections or affect you negatively in other ways if the DMV is notified (LA courts exercise their own discretion and can choose to refer your information to a collections agency OR the DMV OR Both, although it is rumored they usually stick with the first option).

We would like your opinion as well if you think LA LA should shut down the cameras?  Was Los Angeles losing money on red light cameras?  A few non-profits have raised the question of whether photo enforcement is a legitimate use of city and law enforcement resources considering the recent acknowledgement by the LAPD and LADOT that intersections have been made safer due to signal timing enhancements alone.

Contribute by ticketbust.com, helping drivers contest and dismiss their traffic tickets. If you get cited for a red light photo ticket, contact us at www.TicketBust.com or call us at (800) 850-8038. For Spanish, please visit www.Combatesuticket.com or call (818) 584-3689. For more information on how TicketBust can help to beat your cell phone ticket, visit www.fightcellphonetickets.com or call (800) 850-8038.

Related Stories:
What If You Don't Pay Your Red Light Camera Ticket

Cast Your Vote?
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	No
	Don't Care

Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners will decide whether or not to approve the LAPD’s request for a new multi-year, multi-million dollar contract for the city’s Photo Red-Light Program.

Some highlights from the LAPD’s request:

·Under the new Photo Red-Light contract, the City of Los Angeles will lose a minimum of $1.5 million per year on the program.

·LAPD has chosen American Traffic Solutions, the vendor for the current system, as the vendor for the new contract even though ATS is based in the State of Arizona and the City Council previously voted to boycott all Arizona based businesses.

Safer Streets L.A., a grassroots organization dedicated towards improving motorist safety, believes there may be enough opposition from Police Commission Board Members to vote down the proposal and kill the Red Light Camera Program.

Safer Streets L.A. also questions the wisdom of the City of Los Angeles continuing to do business with a company that has recently been caught engaging in ethical lapses in their quest to sway public opinion in support of red light cameras. See the following:

Heraldnet
Spokesman
Highway Robbery
Againstallclods

The Board of Police Commissioners meeting will take place at 9:30am at the Police Administration Building 100 West 1st Street. LA, CA. Safer Streets L.A. studies regarding red-light cameras can be viewed and downloaded for free at Saferstreetsla.org/reports

Safer Streets L.A. has raised the pertinent question of whether photo enforcement is a legitimate use of city and law enforcement resources considering the recent acknowledgement by the LAPD and LADOT that intersections have been made safer due to signal timing enhancements alone. Safer Streets L.A. and its supporters will be providing public comment as to why the contract should not be extended.

• Effect of Extending PRL Contract 3 Months
• Immediate cost of $ $901,539.00 (Vendor and LAPD/DOT)
• Overall Loss of $22,000 (after income from tickets many months later)
• Loss To Local Economy: $1,072,861.00+ (In ticket costs alone. Additional losses to the economy from higher insurance premiums.)
• Cost for 30 day warning period $0.00 (Vendor pays this cost. Need warning period if system moved to new locations anyway.)
• No Improvement in Safety (Accidents were eliminated by original engineering countermeasures, Cameras not put at most dangerous intersections)
• 75% of Tickets for Rolling Right Turns (97% at some intersection approaches)*
• Violations can be further reduced by lengthening yellow light .3 - .7 seconds at minimal cost

3 Month Projections for Contract Extension

Receipts due from Superior Court	$ 1,072,861.00
Reporters Salary Fund Deductions at 18%	$  (193,114.98)
Estimated Revenue from RLC Program	$   879,746.02
Vendor Costs	$   691,194.00
Labor (LADOT & LAPD Direct)	$   210,345.00
LADOT Infrastructure Cost Amortization	$                 -
Total costs	$   901,539.00
Net Income (Loss)	$    (21,792.98)

*Citation Data from LAPD
**Costs and revenue projections verified by Controller’s office.

The Safer Streets LA studies can be viewed and downloaded for free at www.saferstreetsla.org/reports. 

State Map	Red Light Camera Fine $	Red Light Camera Points	Speed Camera Fine $	Speed Camera Points
Alabama	$50
Arizona	$180	no Points	$250-$250	2-3 Points
Arkansas	$50
California	$446	1 Point
Colorado	$90	4 Points	$40-80	4 Points
Delaware	$75-$230
District of Columbia	$75	2 Points	$75	2 Points
Florida	$75-$125
Georgia	$70	3 Points
Hawaii	$77
Illinois	$100	20 Points	$250 or 25	20 points
Indiana	$100
Iowa	$45-$150		$45-$150
Kansas	$100
Louisiana	$100-$140	No Points
Maryland	$100	2 Points	$40 - $1,000	No Points
Michigan	$100
Minnesota	$130
Mississippi	$100
Missouri	$100
Nevada	$600-$1,000	4 Points
New Jersey	$75	No Points
New Mexico	$70-$250		$70-$250
New York	$50-$100	3 Points
North Carolina	$75-$100	3 Points
Ohio	$100-$200		$100-$200
Oklahoma	$100
Oregon	$355		$355
Pennsylvania	$100	3 Points
Rhode Island	$85
South Dakota	$89	No Points
Tennessee	$50-$100		$50-$100
Texas	$75-$200	No Points	$75-$200
Virginia	$100 - $200	4 Points
Washington	$124		$124
West Virginia
Wisconsin	$75

Please make suggested updates of information in the comments section below.

Press-Enterprise - Monday, February 15, 2010

The City Council agreed last week to leave the cameras in place at four intersections on Redlands Boulevard and Barton Road after learning that the number of traffic citations has dramatically dropped and that it would cost the city more than $534,000 to cancel its contract with the camera operator 10 months early.

Four months after Redflex Traffic Systems installed the cameras in 2006, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department reported that it was writing 1,200 tickets a month. Last month, City Attorney Richard Holdaway said the cameras captured 451 potential violations and only 157 tickets were issued.

Of the violations spotted in January, Holdaway said, 130 potential citations were not written because the deputy reviewing the pictures made "a finding of safe right turn on red."

City Council members say they have been besieged with complaints from motorists forced to pay a fine of more than $450 for not making a complete stop before turning right at the intersections of Anderson Street and Mountain View Avenue with Barton Road and Redlands Boulevard.

Holdaway met in closed session with the council last week to advise council members on the legal ramifications of cancelling Redflex's contract before it expires in December.

Then, in public session, City Manager T. Jarb Thaipejr disclosed that the cost to the city would be $534,558.83 if the contract were terminated this month and would amount to $42,000 a month for the remaining term if the council pulls the plug later this year.

Councilmen Rhodes "Dusty" Rigsby and Ovidiu Popescu lobbied last month for either pulling the plug on the cameras or telling the Sheriff's Department not to enforce right-turn violations based on photos from the cameras. They said the $13.5 million in fines imposed since the cameras were installed has been draining the local economy and discouraging people from driving to and through the city of 22,000 residents.

Holdaway said the state Vehicle Code precludes the city from ordering deputies not to write citations.

"Ultimately," he said, "the Sheriff's Department has the sole discretion as to whether or not to issue a citation. We need to respect that discretion that the law enforcement officer has.

"As a result of this discussion, the Sheriff's Department is exercising that discretion ... and they're looking at some of the safety issues, whether or not a particular situation rises to a significant safety violation," Holdaway said. "Right turn situations, the notorious California stop, are some of the situations that they're looking at."

Rigsby noted that the city's decision to increase the length of time that the lights are yellow by one second, at the expense of green lights, has reduced the number of left-turn violations from 240 month to 25 or 30.

He said the most egregious violations involve motorists who drive straight ahead through red lights and those incidents at the four intersections produced only five violations.

"That is tremendous improvement in safety from what we were seeing in the past," he said. "We could have had that safety with lengthening the yellow lights four years ago instead of installing red-light cameras.

Councilman Floyd Petersen, who has complained about the steep fines for right turns, said he was impressed with the decline in violations. He said it is "a very strong indication ... of increased safety at the intersections."

He also said that despite that decline, "I still very, very strongly feel that another issue needs to be addressed here. A $450 ticket for right-hand turn is ludicrous."

Mayor Stan Brauer acknowledged concerns about the message that ignoring violations would have.

"What do we tell our teen-age drivers? Well, you don't need to stop for red lights," he said.

Popescu said he is "very optimistic" after learning that the Sheriff's Department is writing fewer citations for right turns.

He said he still believes the city has a "viable option for us to get out of the contract early, given what I believe is an injury to the community."

He conceded, however, that the cost may be prohibitive.

"I think it is a little early" to make a final decision, he said, and vowed to bring up the issue again at the council's March 9 meeting.

Montebello deficit fueled by overtime costs and less revenue than expected from red-light cameras.  

Whittier Daily News By Thomas Himes, Staff Writer, Posted: 02/11/2010 07:00:49 PM PST

MONTEBELLO - Officials Thursday estimated the City's budget deficit at $3 million and outlined reasons for the short fall that range from red light cameras to overtime hours.  Over the past week, nine employees lost their jobs, dozens more took 5 percent pay reductions and several agreed to retirement, as officials worked to close the deficit.

"Unfortunately, this day has been coming for a long time," said retired city administrator Richard Torres. "I was hoping it could be avoided for at least another year."  Red light cameras fell about $500,000 short of the projected revenue they were expected to create.

"If the program does not result in a positive revenue my recommendation is that we end it, Narramore said."  The city paid consultants $55-per-hour to administer the red light camera program, according to city documents. "We incurred a lot more expenses and a lot less revenue than we thought we would from the cameras," City Councilman Robert Urteaga said. "People simply identified where the cameras are and stopped."

Mayor Bill Molinari said the cameras, which are located at six intersections, have increased public safety.
"The intersections where these cameras were installed had frequent collisions and a number of fatalities," Molinari said. Also, overtime hours the city paid to firefighters, exceeded estimates by about $500,000, Narramore said. "All overtime has been stopped, unless it's an emergency," Narramore said. "We're just not paying overtime for someone to come in and do something they can do the next day."  But, the state's Government Code mandates a minimum of four firefighters to a truck, Narramore said.  "If someone calls out sick, we have to pay some else time-and a half to come in," Narramore said.

Los Angeles Times, February 12, 2010

San Fernando Valley Councilman Dennis Zine would lower fines for red-light violations in L.A.

Councilman says drivers' fines will go down and city revenue will go up if the city processes its own tickets. The county and state are likely to fight the plan, which would decrease their revenue.  Tens of thousands of Los Angeles motorists could see reduced fines for red-light violations -- now hovering around $500 with traffic school fees -- under an unusual proposal presented Wednesday at City Hall.

San Fernando Valley Councilman Dennis Zine introduced a motion to study the feasibility of taking the processing of the city's red-light infractions, and possibly other traffic tickets, out of the hands of the county court system. Such a move could reduce the fines, some of which have risen at three times the rate of inflation in recent years, and increase revenue to the city, Zine said.

The tactic has been quietly adopted by a handful of California towns, but none the size of Los Angeles.

The proposal could trigger a fight with the cash-strapped state as well as judicial agencies, both of which could lose millions in revenue from Los Angeles' red-light tickets. Some have questioned the legality of such city-run adjudication programs.

Red-light ticket revenues have grown in recent years as dozens of California cities have turned to automated photo enforcement systems to monitor intersections around the clock. Los Angeles issues about 3,600 red-light violations per month, just with its camera systems; most have been for rolling right turns.

Los Angeles police officials report that the city netted more than $6 million last year from its photo enforcement program.

Zine, a former Los Angeles traffic officer, has been critical of the jump in red light fines, which are set by state and county agencies.

The fines have become punitive, he argues, particularly for families struggling in the economic downturn. He noted that the city receives only about one-third -- less than $150 -- of the total fine levied for the red-light tickets its officers issue, while on patrol or via camera systems.

Courts might benefit from his proposal because they are overloaded and reducing days of operation, Zine said in an interview. A Los Angeles County Superior Court spokesperson was not available for comment.

Under the proposal, the city would conduct its own administrative hearings on the tickets. Drivers would still get points for violations reported to the Department of Motor Vehicles, he said. The proposal will be initially considered by the council's Public Safety and Budget committees.

Daily Breeze, 02/10/2010

The Gardena City Council voted unanimously this week to extend a contract for 10 red-light cameras at city intersections. On Tuesday, the council decided to continue with the program even though results have been mixed. A police report on the cameras states that they have not resulted in a noticeable safety enhancement. The number of auto collisions has remained the same at some intersections, while increasing at some and decreasing at others.  A staff report concluded that the community generally believes the cameras have a positive impact. The renewal is good for a five-year term with two two-year renewals.

Intersections with cameras are Normandie Avenue and Artesia Boulevard; Normandie and Redondo Beach Boulevard; Rosecrans Avenue and Budlong Avenue; Western Avenue and 158th Street; Redondo Beach Boulevard and Gramercy Place; and Western Avenue and 135th Street.

Los Angeles might expand red-light camera program and add speed cameras. The plan would boost revenue, but city officials say it's safety-driven.

Published by LA Times By Rich Connell, February 3, 2010

Los Angeles' red-light traffic camera program, which officials report netted more than $6 million last year after expenses, could be significantly expanded under a new contract to be negotiated over the next 14 months, records and interviews show.

While adding more cameras could offer a welcome boost to city revenue in the midst of a fiscal crisis, officials say any expansion will be based on safety considerations.

No goal has been set, but internal City Hall discussions have included the possibility of adding cameras to blocks of eight intersections at a time and eventually doubling the overall reach of the program to 64 intersections, Los Angeles Police Department officials told The Times.

Fresh details of the discussions emerged as the Police Commission on Tuesday sent the City Council a recommendation to issue bid requests from vendors to operate -- and presumably enlarge -- the program starting next year.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has called for traffic cameras to be modified to also catch speeders, part of an effort to raise $300 million in fines to help close the state's budget shortfall. 


Los Angeles officials have voiced mixed reactions but taken no formal action on the proposal.

As for red-light cameras, critics contend that the safety benefits have been overstated and that the cameras chiefly are used to fatten government coffers. Those complaints have grown louder as red-light ticket fines have climbed sharply in recent years. They now total more than $500 in Los Angeles County when traffic school fees are included.

But LAPD officials and some experts say photo enforcement reduces potentially serious red-light-running accidents, changes driver behavior for the better and frees up patrol officers for other tasks.

And after struggling with construction delays and start-up and early operating expenses, Los Angeles' red-light cameras have begun producing a sorely needed revenue surplus at a time when city programs and payrolls are being slashed.

Beyond payments of about $2 million to the city's camera vendor and $1.2 million for Police Department costs, the city's 32 camera-equipped intersections generated $6.4 million in net revenue in 2009, said LAPD Sgt. Matthew MacWillie, who oversees the program. The LAPD issues about 3,600 photo enforcement tickets a month, records show.

The program's financial turnaround can be partially attributed to a decision 18 months ago to more than double fines for rolling right-turn violations, which MacWillie has acknowledged account for most violations caught by the cameras.

Previously, Los Angeles had been the only city in the county to charge right turn violations under a vehicle code section that carried a $156 fine. When the LAPD brought its ticketing practices in line with other agencies, right turn fines jumped to $381. The city's share of the fines grew from $58 to nearly $150.

At least one City Council member, Valley representative Dennis Zine, said pursuing bids to continue or expand the photo enforcement program is premature.

He said a detailed study of overall accident rates at photo-equipped intersections was still in the works. "I don't want to do anything until we get the results of that inquiry," he said.

Zine, a former LAPD traffic cop who sits on the council's Public Safety Committee, sought the analysis last year after a local television station reported that the city's red-light cameras haven't always reduced collisions. The LAPD's study is not expected to be completed for about a month.

But MacWillie said Tuesday that data show overall accidents, as well as red-light-running accidents, have declined at camera-equipped intersections.

Considered a key city expert on photo enforcement, MacWillie also said speed cameras can be a valuable traffic enforcement tool if properly focused on safety and altering driver behavior. Approximately 40 people die annually in speed-related accidents in the city, he said.

Zine said putting speed cameras at intersections is an "absurd idea" that would undermine the traditional focus of police officers on public safety.

The governor is "just saying this is a revenue producer," he said.

"With that in mind, why don't we just charge everyone $10 when they start their engine?"h

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First Driver-to-Driver Network Answers the Question “What is The Driver Ahead of Me Experiencing?”


News Facts

• Aha Mobile, Inc., the company that keeps drivers informed about the world around them by safely connecting them to each other and to relevant information from the Web, has launched its first consumer experience - the Aha application for iPhone users.

• The company, which soft launched its application two weeks ago in Los Angeles, San Diego and the San Francisco Bay Area, has expanded road and traffic coverage in the following major metropolitan areas: Dallas and San Antonio, TX, Fort Lauderdale, Miami and Miami Beach, FL, Seattle, WA, Washington D.C. The company will continue to add road and traffic coverage in more cities in the coming months.

• The free application is now available for download in the iTunes App Store.

• Aha’s application is the first driver-to-driver network that answers questions such as “What is the driver a mile ahead of me seeing out his window?” and “What is traffic like now on my route to work?”

• Aha’s application is designed for use at 65 MPH and gives you information, either audibly or in an at-a-glance format, about the roads and photo enforced camera locations nearby.

• It also connects drivers to personalized Web data about nearby services and destinations, such as restaurants, coffee shops and bathrooms.

• Aha is not a navigation application but is instead designed for daily use when you already know how to get to your destination.

Unique Product Features

• Get “Nearby” Alerts for Things You Care About: Are you hungry, want to grab a cup of coffee, or need to take a bathroom break? Select “yes” to any of those questions and Aha’s “Nearby” function alerts you to places along the way, like restrooms from SitOrSquat or highly rated restaurants from Yelp. Aha will also alert you to red-light and speed cameras as you approach them, using data from Photoenforced.com. At 65 MPH, less is more, so Aha only gives you the relevant results pre-filtered for your preferences and location.

• Listen to Live, Personalized Traffic Channels: Like a radio station dedicated to the roads you care about, Aha lets you listen to traffic “Shouts” (or voice notes) from other drivers without taking your eyes off the road. Aha also uses best-in-class INRIX traffic data to tell you how traffic is flowing and alert you to congestion or accidents on the major road segments around you, without requiring you to study a map.

• “Shout” Out Your Own Traffic Reports: With Aha, every driver is a virtual traffic reporter. Simply tap the microphone icon to record and share a 15-second traffic report to help the drivers around you. Your Shout automatically feeds into the road and city-specific Shout Rooms based on your current location.

• Be Entertained in the Car! Aha also wants to make driving fun. For example, the “Caraoke” Shout Room lets you send out a 15 second recording of your radio sing along, then get rated by other drivers. In the “#%& Drivers” Shout Room, let off steam by venting about a bad driver or your frustrating commute.
Executive Quotes

“Aha is uniquely delivering information that every driver wants in a new and better way that doesn’t involve studying tiny maps while you drive. Sometimes you want to hear a live traffic report from a driver ahead of you, and other times you want relevant information from the Web, like a nearby coffee shop,” said Robert Acker, President and CEO of Aha Mobile, Inc.

“Regardless of the source, Aha filters and customizes the information you want based on your preferences and location, presenting it in a format that limits driving distractions and helps you make smart choices along your familiar routes.”
User Quotes

“I frequently run into traffic in my patrol car, particularly on event days at the Del Mar fairgrounds,” said Aha beta tester and San Diego Deputy Sheriff Marshall Abbott. “Even with some state-of-the-art tools at my disposal, I turn to Aha for the latest conditions on the roads I drive daily. I use it to know when traffic is backed up a few miles ahead of me so I can decide if I should bail for another route. Aha’s at-a-glance information is a very efficient way to get me the information I need.”

“Every day when I get in the car, I run Aha to check the Los Angeles freeway traffic before I leave my driveway,” said Aha beta tester David Whelan. “It quickly gives me a good idea of which route to take to work - in typical LA fashion, I have many routes to choose from. Then, I flip into "Nearby" mode while I drive to get alerted to coffee shops and other places I want to know about along the way. I have found that Aha is far less distracting and more efficient way to get this information than the in-car navigation system in my BMW.”
Images, Assets and Product Demo Video

• Click here to view Aha’s quick product demo videos

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Blog: ahamobile.com/blog for more information and product updates
Twitter: @ahamobile
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About Aha Mobile, Inc.

Aha improves your driving experience by keeping you informed about the world around you while you are on the road. To do this, we built the first driver-to-driver network that connects drivers to each other and to relevant information from the Internet. You can record and share your own personal traffic reports to help those around you, or listen to a customized traffic channel on the roads you travel. Aha also alerts you to the nearby things you need – like a great cup of coffee or a restroom. With Aha, drivers share their experiences with one another and help each other on the road.

Founded in 2008, Aha began by building a connected back-end platform that can power any number of devices – from portable electronics to in-car systems. Through our first application, designed for the iPhone, we created a 65 MPH interface (information is delivered audibly or in at-a-glance visual formats) that gives drivers the answers they need while minimizing driving distractions.

Based in Palo Alto, CA, Aha is backed by Venrock and led by a team of executives with nearly four decades of experience developing automotive and location-based services applications.

Drivers in a Class Action Law Suit seek more than $23 million in reimbursements, the amount that the cities paid to the contractor. The California Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether tens of thousands of drivers in San Francisco and other cities can seek partial refunds of the fines they paid for running red lights before 2004, when the private contractor that operated traffic cameras at intersections got a cut of the money from each ticket. ACS State and Local Solutions, typically got about one-third of each red-light fine. That fine is now $380 but was less during the years covered by the case. The Legislature has prohibited such fee arrangements since 2004 and instead requires cities to pay contractors a flat rate for their work, regardless of the number of tickets issued or fines collected. The court case involves tickets issued during the preceding four years.

The case is a consolidation of suits filed on behalf of about 300,000 ticketed drivers in 14 cities and Los Angeles County, plaintiffs' lawyers said Thursday. The cities include San Francisco, Santa Rosa, Redwood City and Cupertino.

See these recent stories below.

Philadelphia - http://www.nbc10.com/news/17706251/detail.html
San Diego - http://www.cbs8.com/story.php?id=141872#

Make sure you come to a complete stop when making a right turn on red. According to this LA Times article that has been the key to the city staying profitable with its red light camera program. Rolling right turns on a red light will get you a $158 fine in Culver City as compared to running completely through an intersection for a $381 fine. See this chart below of a breakdown in estimated revenue by some Los Angeles cities . . .

PhotoEnforced.com has launched new regional maps of Red Light Camera locations for Washington DC, San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange County and Riverside. More regions will be launching soon.

Red Light Cameras take pictures and video of red-light runners.  However, if a positive photo ID is not obtained the ticket is usually dropped.  For example, the police must be able to match if the driver is a woman or a man and if the person is white or black.  If the image is not you that is driving in the car the police may ask you to snitch on who might have driven the vehicle and this is also called a "snitch ticket".