A single red light camera in Riverside, California issued $1 million worth of right-hand turn on red tickets in just one month. The automated ticketing machine installed in March at Tyler Street at the entrance to the 91 Freeway has become the most productive of the city’s cameras and now accounts for half of the citations issued by Riverside’s vendor, Redflex Traffic Systems of Australia. The camera helped boost the grand total of citations mailed since January 2007 to 82,448 tickets worth $32,532,203.
As in most California cities, Riverside’s program began with tickets issued to drivers primarily at locations where the yellow light provided insufficient warning. A 2001 report by the California State Auditor found that 77 percent of tickets in major cities were issued for split-second violations. This means that motorists who harmlessly entered the intersection a fraction of a second after the light turned red were photographed and sent a ticket. In fact, the trigger is so quick in Riverside that city documents recorded four instances early this year in which the camera generated a citation when one traffic signal facing the driver displayed a red light while a secondary signal still displayed the yellow light. Tickets in these particular cases were canceled before being dropped in the mail.
Over time, drivers learned the location of these cameras and traffic volume has decreased. So the number of citations has likewise diminished. Redflex addresses this problem by regularly installing new cameras with an emphasis on those that focus on “rolling” right-turns on red. Thanks to this strategy, Riverside saw a 28 percent increase in gross revenue over all of 2007 in just the first eight months of 2009. The Tyler Street and 91 camera accounted for nearly all of the boost, generating $1 million worth of citations in April according to data obtained by highwayrobbery.net. The same camera is on track to issue $11 million annually.
Despite the significant revenue figures, Riverside Police insist that the cameras have one purpose: to reduce traffic fatalities.
“The red signal is red for a reason. Like the ‘Wrong Way’ and ‘Stop’ signs, the lights’ red color is intended to be a strong warning to motorists of the deadly hazard in disobeying these signs,” Riverside Police Traffic Bureau Lieutenant Ken Carpenter said in a statement.
According to a 2001 review of 2001 National Highway Transportation Safety Administration report, however, a mere 0.038 percent of all crashes involved a motorist who made a right-hand turn at an intersection (view report). By the odds, such accidents are so rare that an individual could drive a billion miles before being involved in a collision that resulted from a motorist making a rolling stop on a right-hand turn.
[courtesy thenewspaper.com]
If the cameras are all about safety, then the police department should be able to show a marked decrease in both accidents and fatalities at that intersection since the cameras have gone in.
I live in Riverside. I don’t have a problem with these cameras, since lots of people around here tend to think that “red light” means “four more cars can go through”. I can’t tell you the number of times the light turns green with cross traffic still in the intersection. Oh yeah, and I’ve never received a ticket from these things.
Thats why I sold the car! It just ain’t no fun no more and I resent “paying” for “safety innovations” I don’t need!
These draconinan measure have lead to the city losing at least $1500 since selling I sold the car in July, as I no longer get speeding, traffic light or parking fines at all!
That will learn them !!
I thinl the BEST way to slow people down is by putting in a board showing you how fast you are going…but that doesn’t make ’em any money does it…or by employing some of those topless Danish birds holding “slow down!” boards!!
The way to defeat these things is for EVERYONE –
or at least a significant fraction – who gets
one of these tickets to take it to court. Clog
the courts, make the cops show up for hearings,
stall, obfuscate, and put that stuff on your
license plate that makes it hard or impossible
to photograph.
The title of this story is somewhat misleading. Red-light cameras don’t ‘make’ anything. They take.
I got a $90 ticket in Chicago when the picture that I was sent showed the light both yellow & red.
I talked to a lawyer who said it is not worth my time to risk paying hundreds in court costs if I lost to save $90. The tickets are done by an “administrative” judge (not a “real” judge) who has a list of 8 possible defenses, and if it isn’t cut & dried, you lose.
I paid the $90. Chicago has now lost all sales tax rev. from me as I don’t buy a single thing there since I’ve moved.
I DO get the last laugh.
Mike08> There is no cop required to show up in Chicago. It’s pretty much just you & a judge, so I heard.
This guy has my vote!
Michigan Attorney General Says Red Light Cameras Illegal
Michigan Attorney General ruling finds red light camera ordinances in violation of state law.
http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/15/1582.asp
What a bunch of hog wash. If these silly camara traps were used to reduce fatalities then show me the evidence where they have done so. If not then chalk one more up to yet another money making scheme.
Wonder what it would take for enough people to insist on “no jury of 12, no conviction. Period.” That would clean out all this revenue raising nickel and dimeing crap in pretty much no time, allowing law enforcement and traffic planners time to focus on more genuine safety issues.
Barring that, the best we can hope for would be a sudden influx of Tim McVeighs with newly granted degrees from the Northern Finland Institute of Explosives, I suppose…
In the case of Duncanville, TX the most common red light violation was simply stopping past the white stop bar so you can see cross traffic before turning. Ignoring a potential safety problem with non-existent pedestrians, stopping closer to the intersection so you can see cross traffic is actually safer. I’ve seen some intersections where I suspect the lines were moved back to create a right turn on red violation.
If the cameras are all about safety, then the police department should be able to show a marked decrease in both accidents and fatalities at that intersection since the cameras have gone in.
Not only that, but you would expect a marked decrease in the number of violations. Which has not happened. And which, if it did happen, would make the program not worth doing anymore.
The fact is, these red light tickets do not help safety at all. They generate a steady amount of revenue because the red lights tickets do nothing for safety or to improve driver behavior. The only change is more money in the pockets of governments and companies like Redflex. And less money in the pockets of us.
I just paid $436 to the County of San Mateo in California for my wife’s red light ticket. It’s on appeal. Regardless of the outcome, I’m going to take on this racket in federal court.
Readers who live in California or might visit here need to know about Snitch Tickets, which are fake/phishing red light camera tickets sent out by some California police in an effort to get the registered owner to identify the actual driver of the car. Snitch tickets have not been filed with the court, so they don’t say “Notice to Appear,” don’t have the court’s address and phone # on them, and usually say, on the back (in small letters), “Do not contact the court about this notice.” Since they have not been filed with the court, they have no legal weight whatsoever. You can, and should, ignore a Snitch Ticket. If in doubt, Google the term.