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.

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

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. 

 

NYC ticketed more than 1M drivers for running a red lights in 2010. The number of $50 red-light tickets citations almost doubled by 40% from 710,978 in 2009 to 1,000,598 in 2010. The city collected $55.4 million in red light tickets in 2010 which is up 70% from $32 million in 2009.  NYC secret camera locations (150) that we have in our database at PhotoEnforced.com catch an average of 2,741 drivers per day.  More cities like Rochester and Syracuse plan to follow the lead of NYC and will be installing up to 50 cameras throughout the city.  See the story in the WSJ.

Red light cameras at four Pembroke Pines, Florida intersections have led to more than 1,500 tickets issued to drivers in the past six months which has generated $76,294 in revenue but the city's legal fees for enforcing the citations in Broward court have led the controversial program to lose cost more money than it generates.  This has forced city commissioners to defend the program as a lifesaver and not a revenue generator that cost the city $13,000.  The total cost of the program since July has been $83,347 with $50,158 going to American Traffic Solutions (ATS), the Arizona-based company contracted to install the cameras in Pembroke Pines; and the remainder going for legal fees.  Read more

We would appreciate your thoughts and comments below of other cities that are losing revenue on the cameras. What action is taken by the camera operators ATS and Redflex in cases like this?  Do these companies lower their fees to accommodate to the citations as a cost neutral or revenue generating entity?   Are they secreting paying off city officials or entertaining them?  These are the cities where you are likely to find the most corruption.  

Loma Linda has switched off the city’s red light cameras earlier five years after they were installed at four intersections and has lengthened their yellow lights to solve the traffic accident problems. The cameras caught 20 red light runners per day at a cost of nearly $500 a ticket which is $10,000 or approximately $300,000 per month. City officials said 80% of the traffic tickets written were for illegal right turn violations spotted by the cameras were for people making right-hand turns at 5 miles per hour and not coming to a complete stop.

So what was the trouble keep them profitable? Were they not collecting the ticket revenue? City officials claim most of the revenue went to the Redflex that managed the system or about $15 million according to Loma Linda officials. The city got only about $50,000 a year or $200,000 of the $15M in revenue generated. Redflex Traffic Systems, which operated the cameras at four intersections: Barton Road at Anderson Street and Mountain View Avenue, and Redlands Boulevard at Anderson and Mountain View.

Watch how some residents got out of the tickets and how the city solved the problem making longer yellow traffic lights.

Linden City officials tell The Star-Ledger of Newark that the city has collected more than $800,000 in fines in the first three months of issuing tickets. Almost 20,000 tickets have been mailed out. Linden has cameras in operation at three intersections, two on Routes 1 & 9 and one on Route 27. The fine is somewhere between $75 to $140 as reported by drivers.

Linden police officer said the cameras appear to be improving safety as well. Sgt. Michael Babulski said there has been only one accident at the intersections with the cameras since they were activated.

Bruce Simon from Palo Alto has filed a class-action lawsuit against the two largest companies who run red light cameras in San Mateo county Redflex and American Traffic Solutions. Simon says they're violating state law by including a so-called "cost neutral" provision in the contracts.  Simon says the camera makers reimburse cities when they can't make enough from tickets to pay for the monthly operational costs. It can't be a money loser for the cities and the companies will make up the difference.  Red light camera operators typically pick intersections which are going to be susceptible to the most tickets, says Simon.  We're going after the private companies that induce these municipalities to get into these contracts as revenue enhancing vehicles, Simon said.  If it's supposed to be about safety and preventing accidents, the revenue aspect shouldn't be as important.

There have been court challenges to the cost neutral clause and as a result several Peninsula cities have stopped using the red light cameras, others are in the process of dropping it, among them is Redwood City.  Another trend seems to be the growing use of right turn cameras or those intersection that monitor if you make a "California Stop".  A California stop is also referred to as a rolling right turn. 

Related articles:
Red light cameras in Redwood City have not resulted in a significant drop in accidents
Redwood City to review use of red light cameras

Red light cameras in New Jersey's largest city have generated nearly half a million dollars in their first five months in operation. Newark issued $85 tickets to more than 20,000+ drivers between December 2009 and April 2010.  More than 12,000 had paid their fines by the end of April which is above average.  Newark's $85 fine is divided among the city, state and Redflex contracted to maintain the cameras.

Newark installed the cameras as part of a five-year pilot program conducted by the state Transportation Department. The DOT has issued permits for use in 22 towns. However, they're only operational in Newark, Brick Township, Glassboro and Deptford.  The DOT plans to evaluate their effectiveness after collecting a year’s worth of data.

Its not surprising to see cities getting desperate to raise fines as their violation numbers begin to drop as citizens get smarter about navigating around the locations.  The US is in arguably the deepest and longest recession in decades yet government feel like they are free to double fines for violations.  Some might call this 100% inflation in economics.   I have heard rumors of other cities around the US doing this as well in order to keep camera operations profitable.  However, my speculation is the State government of Florida wants a piece of the City and County revenue. 

Drivers in Florida who fail to stop for red lights will be facing a steeper fines according to this news report. The fine for getting caught on camera running a red light is going up and other Florida counties may join Collier County. Governor Charlie Crist has signed the bill making the red light cameras legal statewide. The fine has been raised to $158. Currently, the fine price varies between $60 and $100.  Read more: Watch the News Report

Please send us an email or let us know in the comments section below if your city, state or county is planning to raise fines.

See our related articles:
State of Florida Wants A Piece City Revenue

Driving in congested cities throughout the US can be tough enough; dealing with bad drivers, road rage, and stop and go traffic. But the growing use of red light cameras is starting to rub drivers the wrong way. And as the growing need for revenue hits communities everywhere, drivers are stopping and protesting their use.

In February, Priam Rosenburg got a ticket after he was caught on a red light camera. The only problem is he wasn't driving the car. "I was here in my office at the time," Rosenburg said. "I have two witnesses that state that I was in my office."

So Rosenburg spent two hours in front of Aventura's code enforcement protesting the ticket. Out of the twelve people that were there with similar issues, none won their case.

"Unless you have a death certificate saying that you died somewhere before that ticket was issued; maybe then you might have a chance of not paying this," Rosenburg said. And he's not alone in his frustration.

"I hate to say that I told you so but now more people have come to say this is a fee and it's unfair… it's a revenue grab," said Hallandale Commissioner Keith London.

London said Hallandale's lone red light camera is on track to bring in $1.2 million in just one year. Almost all of the citations aren't for speeding, instead London said, "Over 90 percent of those infractions are for right turn on Red." Read More

Can Red Light Camera Ticket Revenue Be Used to "Do Good"?

Would citizens be less angry if city's who used automated law enforcement donated 50% of the revenue to schools or other non-profit organizations?   The industry is likely now over $1B in annual revenue and there are over 500 cities and 7,000+ cameras in use around the US.  So far in my short eight year career of running red light camera database and watching the news I have only heard of one example of a city Wilmington, North Carolina that donates ticket revenue to schools.  Ticket Proceeds Go To Local Schools. 

We want to hear from you if there are any other positive examples that we can highlight in our newsletter.  

In a ruling that could have implications for other cities, a circuit court judge ruled Monday morning that the city of Aventura, Florida cannot use cameras to catch red light runners.  However, it did not file an injunction ordering the city to stop using the cameras. The ruling came in a lawsuit filed by a motorist who argued that only the state Legislature can pass laws regarding traffic violations. Cities have gotten around the lack of state authorization by citing red light runners with a code violation, rather than a traffic ticket.

The city can appeal the ruling by Circuit Court Judge Jerald Bagley, and the judge's decision has no bearing on other cities nor did it invalid the constitutionality of red-light programs. But if it stays in force, the ruling could set a legal precedent that could be used in suits against red-light camera programs in other cities.

Other South Florida cities have similar ways to catch speeders and beef up city revenues, so the ruling against the cameras could open the flood gates to challenges. Cities, like Aventura, Miami Beach, Pembroke Pines and others, have used cameras to cite red light runners with a code violation, instead of a traffic violation. Lusskin argued that was merely a way of circumventing the state law and that cities could only issue tickets to red light runners if an officer is present.

In his ruling Monday morning, Bagley sided with Lusskin and granted his motion for summary judgment against Aventura.

The lawyer representing Aventura city attorney Michael S. Popok said that the judge's ruling only addressed whether or not cities can issue fines based on the red-light cameras - and not the presence of the cameras themselves or the program. The state charter says that cities have the power to use ``security devices'' to ``regulate'' what occurs on the roadways, and the issue, according to Popok, is whether or not the word ``regulate'' gives cities the authority to issue fines.

The judge did not issue an injunction against the program as part of his ruling, so it can continue to operate while the city decides whether or not to file an appeal.

How much does a Failure to Stop on Red ticket cost?  We have over 170 locations in our database (as of February 2010) around the US in and the fine ranges from $50 on the East Coast and up to $350 on the West Coast in California.   The amount of the fine is set by each city and would recommend you search for "Right Turn Cameras" in our open database at PhotoEnforced.com to get a better idea of what it will be in your city.

Illegal rolling right turns are when a driver does not come to a "complete stop" before making the turn. These  turns result in a ticket when the driver makes a right turn on red regardless if they came to a complete stop. Its a very "grey area" what a "complete stop" is but I have been told its anything under 7MPH.  If you are traveling over 7MPH measured by the camera pictured above you will likely get a ticket.  

Photo enforcement of illegal right turns or failure to stop on red is becoming a very popular revenue source among many city's around the US. Illegal right turns are made when a sign clearly states "no right on red" or "after stop a right turn is permitted on red' or "stop here on red" (pictured above).  

We would appreciate any feedback from drivers around the Country to clarify this below under comments.

The two largest red light camera operators ATS and Redflex will likely do more than $200M in revenue in 2010 just in the U.S.  This could be a very light estimate based on the lack of transparency on the number of cameras in operation. I know for a fact the the information they provide on their web sites are out of date.

Here is how we calculated it:  Redflex charges $4,396 per month and American Traffic Soltuions (ATS) charges $4,750 per month per camera according to many news articles around the U.S. Multiple the amount of revenue per camera per month and you come up with a an estimate of what the company will do in revenue in 2010. Based on our calculations ATS likely has more than 2,000 cameras in operation and therefore will likely do about $108M in revenue in 2010 and Redflex has reportedly more than 1,700 cameras in operation and therefore will do around $89M according to our estimates.

Other companies like Red Speed charge $1,499 per month per camera according to news articles.

PhotoEnforced.com Comparison of Red Light Camera Operators (Click Here To Edit/Add Info)

Red-light districts

LA Observed Sketchbook - Red light districts operations designed to rake in the money while actually worsening things in the vicinity.  Red-light cameras are pretty much the exact same thing as Amersterdam's red light camera district.  

The National Motorist Association NMA has been contending that red-light cameras (RLCs) are a detriment to motorist safety for many years. People, both in the media and in the general public, often dismiss this claim as opinion, suggest that there isn’t enough data available yet, ask why we support people who run red lights (we don’t), or write off the organization as being biased. Read this List of Research Reports from NMA

Legislators in Springfield, Illinois will take up a bill Tuesday that could ban automated red-light cameras.

The bill, which has the support of a number of leading Republicans and Democrats, would remove the right of counties and municipalities in Illinois to use the automated red-light cameras. Those cameras, which ticket motorists for going through stop lights, have popped up at intersections across the city and suburbs.  Its unknown whether the Bill will apply to only new cameras or if the old cameras will be taken down.  History has shown us that previous cameras installed in other cities around the Country are grandfathered in until the contracts with Redflex and ATS have expired.

PhotoEnforced.com has been tracking the growth cameras in Illinois and it is one of the fastest growing states to use the technique.  Based on our open database there are more than 700+ locations being monitored around the state with more than two thirds of them in Chicago.

Supporters of the cameras claim they increase safety. But opponents argue the cameras only bring in revenues.

Red-light cameras have become a nuisance for some motorists in the area of Interstate 25 and Lincoln Avenue in Lone Tree, Colorado.

Lone Tree Voice By Chris Michlewicz, Published: 02.12.10

Authorities expect the devices to reduce accidents and traffic congestion. Those who drive along Lincoln Avenue near the I-25 interchange might have seen the bright flashes of light coming from bulbs mounted on light poles at Lincoln and Park Meadows Drive and Lincoln and the highway’s northbound off-ramp, known as San Luis Street. The intersections were identified in a study as problem areas: Lincoln and Park Meadows Drive for congestion, and Lincoln and San Luis for frequent crashes. Lone Tree officials decided to correct the problem by enlisting the services of American Traffic Solutions, which installed and maintains the cameras, prepares violation notices, provides the software for violation approval and collects fines on behalf of the city’s police department.

Since the first set of cameras was placed at Lincoln and Park Meadows Drive in July 2008, Lone Tree has collected $218,000 in fines. That includes numbers from the second and third sets of cameras, which were installed in November. The cameras, however, have proven effective. There is less bottlenecking at the Lincoln and Park Meadows Drive intersection, an issue that caused major back-ups for eastbound and westbound traffic on Lincoln. Statistics on the number of accidents are not yet available, said Sgt. Scott Cavenah, traffic supervisor for the Lone Tree Police Department.

But some motorists are upset about what they call blinding flashes of light, even when there are no vehicles in the intersection. Parker resident David Wilson said he became aware of the cameras as he sat at a red light on westbound Lincoln last summer. While he applauds efforts to improve safety, Wilson believes the cameras could eventually end up causing an accident. “What I can’t understand is the random timing of the photos being taken,” he said. “I watched it flash twice when there was no one even violating the law.” A city spokesperson attributed the “random” flashes to the system “recalibrating” itself. Wilson said the flashes can be distracting to motorists, especially out-of-towners who might not be aware they are present.

The Lincoln and San Luis intersection was found to be a hotspot for regular violations. The study found a high accident rate, a large number of violations during the research period and significant congestion. Furthermore, officers could not effectively work the intersection because of its design. Cavenah has collected data on the intersection, but said the numbers are too preliminary to determine whether the red-light cameras have been effective. “A better comparison can be made once we get at least one-year’s worth of data to review,” he said in an update sent via e-mail. The annual expense to Lone Tree for all three cameras is $180,000. The city ultimately hopes to gain voluntary compliance with the traffic laws and maintain better traffic flow in the area.

Wilson would prefer to see the cameras removed, but expects to see more of them in the Denver metro area in the coming years. “Unfortunately, I think things are going that way,” he said. “They are the cops. They can pretty much do whatever they want.”

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.

Alessandro Blvd & Perris Intersection, Moreno Valley, CA

The money making allure of red light cameras has worn off in a pair of Southern California cities as drivers get educated and ticket revenue drops and legal activity rises. In Moreno Valley on Tuesday, the city council voted 3-1 to shut down the automated ticketing machines that have been operating since 2008.

“Due to legal activities in the state legislature in the past few years regarding red light photo enforcement and the lack of public support for the program, city council’s consensus is to discontinue the existing red light photo enforcement service at the end of its 2-year pilot program,” Public Works Director Chris A. Vogt wrote in a memo to the mayor and council. At least one member of the public believed the council’s unspoken motivation has been the lack of expected revenue being generated by the program.

The city will notify Redflex Traffic Systems to remove its equipment from Frederick Street at Centerpoint Drive, and Perris at Alessandro boulevards. Eric Lewis, the city's traffic engineer, evaluated the data and said the 18-month test program was successful: Accidents dropped by a third at Frederick/Centerpoint and 16 percent at the Perris/Alessandro. But the program proved to be a marginal moneymaker, the public detested it and the council decided it wasn't worth it.

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.