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.