Cameras catch 4,000

Deepa Bharath

More than 4,000 drivers have been caught on camera running red lights

at four of the city’s busiest intersections.

The cameras were first installed at Harbor Boulevard and Adams

Avenue in May. In October, more were installed at Bristol Street and

Anton Boulevard and along Newport Boulevard at 17th and 19th streets.

“We’re producing more red light citations than any other city in

the country which is being serviced by this company,” Lt. Karl

Schuler said. “That means this is a big problem for us.”

Most of the money from the hefty $326 fine per ticket goes to the

state and county, he said. In the end, the city gets about $42, money

City Council members have earmarked for the driver’s education

programs in local high schools.

In the next several months, the city will have these cameras at

six more city intersections.

“This is not meant to be a money-making operation for the city,”

Schuler said. “Red-light runners cause the most injury collisions,

and numbers show that these cameras, over a two-year period, will

bring down red light-related accidents by 40%.”

Intersections with these cameras post alerts to drivers as

mandated by the law. The cameras snap 30 frames a second when a

violation occurs. It then sends the digital images to a roadside

computer that stores them and sends them to a processing center in

Rhode Island.

The company screens the images and sends “legitimate” violations

back to the Costa Mesa police. Traffic department officers then look

at these violations and approve the citations. The tickets are then

mailed off to the violators with five pictures, including those of

the driver’s face and vehicle license plates.

Those who believe they did not run a red light are welcome to view

the tape at the police department, Schuler said. The department has

about 30 such viewings or hearings per week, he said.

“It saves us having to go to court,” Schuler said.

He said violators come up with wild excuses to avoid the steep

fines.

“I once had a lady who came in and said she delivers flowers and

couldn’t see the light change because she had bees in the car,”

Schuler said. “But we saw the tape together, and there were no bees.”

It makes the issue straight and simple and easy for the officers

to handle, he said.

“There is no dispute here,” Schuler said. “These are very obvious

violations.”

He said the city has not had one traffic collision to date that

could be attributed to drivers’ losing their concentration because of

a camera flash or stopping and being rear-ended.

Councilwoman Libby Cowan said she is “amazed at how effective the

cameras are.”

“I’m curious to see how other intersections are affected because

of the cameras,” she said. “Are people slowing down, or are they

taking advantage of the fact that there are no cameras?”

The council expects to get numbers from the police department in

January, Cowan said.

“I think we’re sending a message to the people,” she said. “This

is the only way to stop red- light runners, because the police can’t

be at every intersection.”

* DEEPA BHARATH covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at deepa.bharath@latimes.com.