Ticket for Illegal Right Turn

Illegal Right Turn & Rolling Right Tickets Defined

The difference between the two types of tickets is huge!   If you made a right-hand turn at a red light and were caught by a camera, chances are that the ticket you received in the mail states you violated CVC§21453(a) even though they could have (some argue should have) cited you for CVC§21453(b). For some cities, like Los Angeles, CA most of the revenue is generated by illegal right turns, in fact, an LA Times article from December last year reported that according to the Los Angeles Police Department, an estimated 8 in 10 photo tickets were issued for right turns.  Do you wonder police departments are now issuing tickets under Vehicle code section CVC§21453 (a) regardless of whether or not the motorist was turning right?

Here are both of these sections:

21453 Circular Red or Red Arrow

(a) A driver facing a steady circular red signal alone shall stop at a marked limit line, but if none, before entering the crosswalk on the near side of the intersection or, if none, then before entering the intersection, and shall remain stopped until an indication to proceed is shown, except as provided in subdivision (b).

(b) Except when a sign is in place prohibiting a turn, a driver, after stopping as required by subdivision (a), facing a steady circular red signal, may turn right, or turn left from a one-way street onto a one-way street. A driver making that turn shall yield the right-of-way to pedestrians lawfully within an adjacent crosswalk and to any vehicle that has approached or is approaching so closely as to constitute an immediate hazard to the driver, and shall continue to yield the right-of-way to that vehicle until the driver can proceed with reasonable safety.

Now, here’s the distinction:

The first section (a) says nothing about right turns and is basically used for those who go straight through a red light.

The second section (b) essentially says you can turn after stopping if there is no sign prohibiting a turn on red.

So if you made a “California rolling stop” why wouldn’t you be cited for the second section (b) instead of (a) you might ask...

Check out this “Traffic Infraction Penalty Schedule” (from the January 2010 Edition Uniform Bail and Penalty Schedules, California Rules of Court, Rule 4,102):

Section: 21453 (a, c)
Offense: “Red” Signal- Vehicular Responsibilities
Total Bail/Fee (Keep in mind the so-called “Total Bail” is before a certain additional court or other fees that is added and there are 30 counties in CA authorized by law to exceed the total bail/fee):$380.00

Section: 21453 (b)
Offense: “Red” Signal- Vehicular Responsibilities With Right Turn
Total Bail/Fee (Keep in mind the so-called “Total Bail” is before a certain additional court or other fees that is added and there are 30 counties in CA authorized by law to exceed the total bail/fee):$146.00

Fine for Running a Red Light

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

Do Red Light Camera Tickets Come by Regular or Certified Mail?

Most moving violation tickets are issued on the spot by police officers who pull you over.  However, automated enforcement traffic tickets such as red-light camera or speed camera tickets usually come through the regular mail and are sent to the registered owner of the vehicle.  These tickets are not typically sent through certified mail in most cities.

If you happen to get a certified letter from a company posing as a city, police or court you should exercise caution.  Verify the city, police or court and the address on the envelope and make sure its not a false address.  Make sure it corresponds to your local police department or court for ticket processing.

We have been getting some strange emails from potential scam artists who might be posing as ticket agencies illegally. We suspect that they are sending innocent people red light camera tickets and asking for payment.  This scam is very similar to the Property Tax Scam that asks for your payment and comes in an envelope that looks very similar to the Franchise Tax Board.

Radar Detectors at Best Buy & Amazon

Best Buy & Amazon Radar Detectors on Sale

While shopping today we discovered the following devices on display at Best Buy.  The store was located in California so it's not surprising that the aisle was empty since it's virtually impossible to get a speeding ticket on congested roads.  However, we were wondering if any of these devices had GPS inside and were able to warn you if you were getting close to any red light cameras?

The Passport 9500ix is the only device that uses satellites for GPS navigation to pinpoint your exact location and compares it to the detector's on-board database of red light and speed camera locations.  An alert goes off as you approach an intersection with an audible and visual alert.  There is no information on how the company has acquired its database of locations and no information on how to update it.  If they truly want to have industry incredibility about the number of locations I would recommend they disclose the number of red-light cameras in their database.  I can guarantee you they don't have all the 7,000 locations that we have in our red light camera database.  

Loma Linda Red Light Cameras Turned Off & Lengthens Yellow Lights

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 by making longer yellow traffic lights.

Government Employees Avoid Red Light Camera Tickets

California Government Employees Get a Free Ride

Approximately 30 years ago, the Confidential Records Program in California makes private license plates available to police officers and other state or government employees so certain workers can choose to keep their DMV info private, like their home address.  The law is supposed to keep certain information private like the home address, to prevent say criminals from harassing, threatening, or stalking police officers, judges, etc. This law has been expanded over the years to include numerous other Government or State worker positions (like park rangers) not just police officers or judges and has even been extended to include spouses and children. Furthermore, employees can retain confidentiality for 3 years if they switch to a civilian job, and retired peace officers can remain in the confidential plate program indefinitely.

When someone in the privacy program is detected, the DMV will only release the person’s employing agency to non–police agencies and or to private companies that process citations for cities and counties. The DMV cannot release a home address and therefore a violator with a confidential plate who is caught on camera cannot get a ticket.

There is no question that camera enforcement of traffic violations generates revenue for the State.  If the DMV has more than one million vehicles registered to motorists who are connected to a few thousand state and local government agencies that are allowed to opt for confidential plates, this could prevent the State from collecting on millions of dollars in fines from those State workers.  These State works can also get out of traffic fines, tolls, or parking tickets. California assemblyman Jeff Miller has taken efforts in hopes to close the gap of this so-called loophole.

Contributed by ticketbust.com, helping drivers contest and dismiss their traffic tickets.