Drivers, get ready to say cheese
Deepa Bharath
Red-light cameras will start snapping violators at one major Costa
Mesa intersection the first week of May.
There is a high incidence of red-light violation in the city,
Costa Mesa Police Lt. Karl Schuler said.
A test done at the intersection of Harbor Boulevard and Adams
Avenue -- where the first cameras will be installed -- showed that in
an 18-hour period, there were at least 259 red-light violations.
Other notorious intersections in the study were Newport Boulevard at
19th and 17th streets.
The cameras could get a boost from the state if Senate Bill 780
passes.
The bill, introduced by Sen. Tom Torlakson (D-Antioch), proposes
that the law be changed to make the owner of the vehicle liable
instead of the driver who is photographed. The bill also proposes
that cameras shoot only the rear license plates of vehicles instead
of taking pictures of the driver and the front license plate.
The bill will improve on the current system and make it more
effective, said John Lovell, Sacramento lobbyist and attorney.
“Right now, when the cameras flash, drivers end up covering their
face with their hands,” he said. “That creates an even more unsafe
condition.”
Placing the responsibility on the owner instead of the driver will
also make it a civil citation, Lovell said.
“It won’t be in the area of criminal law as it is now,” he said.
“Making it civil will enable more citations to be issued, making it a
deterrent on red-light runners.”
Schuler said his department, like most law enforcement agencies,
is “100% behind SB 780.”
“A good percentage of the people driving are not identified by the
camera because they have their head down or are sneezing,” he said.
Costa Mesa’s first camera at Harbor and Adams circumvents that
problem by shooting a continuous digital video, taking pictures of
the front and rear of the vehicle in addition to the driver.
“It’s 30 frames in all for one vehicle,” he said. “So there’s a
very small chance of missing.”
The bill is not without opposition. The Auto Club of Southern
California opposes it because officials say it has inherent flaws.
“Basically, it’s not fair because red-light running is a moving
violation,” spokeswoman Carol Thorp said. “And it’s unfair to have a
higher penalty if you’re stopped by a cop and a lower one when you’re
caught on camera.”
Thorp says that would mean letting violators off easy.
“The bill would make it a little more than a parking ticket,” she
said. Under SB 780, motorists caught running a red light by a camera
would pay a maximum fine of $200 and would not have it go on their
record, while those caught by a traffic officer would continue to be
fined up to $341 and have a point added to their driving record.
But the Auto Club will support AB 1022, a bill introduced by
Assemblywoman Jenny Oropeza (D-Carson) that recommends tighter
control over red-light camera programs, Thorp said. That bill is
expected to be heard in the Assembly Transportation Committee meeting
on Monday.
Newport Beach does not have red-light cameras, but has installed
red-light indicator boxes at about 25 intersections. These boxes are
basically small units perched behind the traffic light that reflect
the red light as soon as the signal changes. That way, the officer
who is positioned behind a traffic light gets ahead of the violator.
“We’ve had good success with these boxes,” Newport Beach Police
Sgt. Steve Shulman said.
He said Newport Beach doesn’t plan on opting for cameras any time
soon.
“The indicator boxes are a cheap alternative,” Shulman said. “And
they’re working well for us.”
The senate bill is scheduled to be heard in the Senate Judiciary
on Tuesday. Schuler said he believes the passage of this bill will
help make the system more effective. Costa Mesa, he said, will get
these cameras at 12 to 14 more intersections within the next year or
so.
The cameras, he said, pay for themselves. Part of the money from
the citations goes to the company that rents them to the city, part
of it goes to the courts, and another portion goes to the city.
But the City Council has already decided that the city’s share of
the money should be transferred to local schools’ driver instruction
programs, Schuler said.
“This is not about money,” he said. “It’s about preventing traffic
accidents caused by drivers running red lights.”
* DEEPA BHARATH covers public safety and courts. She may be
reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at deepa.bharath@latimes.com.
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