I don’t recommend this approach to red light cameras, but they are an abuse of the public. I sat on the Planning and Transportation Commission of the City of Mission Viejo for four years. During that time, we considered installing red light camera enforcement. I don’t like red light runners, especially after running a trauma center for seven years. At the time we were considering the red light cameras, there were a number of scandals in California, such as this one. The problems are several: some states rely only on the license plate number. The Minnesota Supreme Court decided that was not enough. In Cleveland, they were attacked as increasing accidents as drivers slam on brakes to avoid running the red. There has been driver backlash. Finally, the Ohio Superme Court considered this case. So far there has not been a ruling although it is expected next month. We decided not to install them in Mission Viejo.
My own experience was with the City of Costa Mesa. In 2004, Cost Mesa was caught setting the yellow light at a shorter duration than the state mimimum. They had to admit the “error” and the cases were dismissed by the traffic court. Costa Mesa is the only city in Orange County, CA with red light cameras. It is interesting that, when Costa Mesa was caught violating state law, they only refunded the fines to those who had pleaded not guilty. What is unique about Costa Mesa ? First, they are a city with, like Oakland in Gertrude Stein’s famous phrase, “no there, there.” Costa Mesa is a small city that motorists pass through on the way to Newport Beach. Newport Beach is a wealthy beach town and those motorists drive nice cars and have plenty of money to pay traffic fines. Sutton’s Law applies. Costa Mesa sets up its red light cameras on the routes that motorists use to pass through on the way to somewhere else, either Newport Beach to the south, or Irvine to the north. Then they fiddle with the timing in order to trap as many motorists as possible into paying fines. It has been shown for example, that lengthening the yellow phase reduces the number of people violating the red light by a large factor.
“A real world example that illustrates that motorists do not adjust to the yellow light time and begin violating red lights again can be found in Fairfax County, Virginia. The engineers increased the yellow light time on March 26, 2001 from 4 seconds to 5.5 seconds with a result of a 96 percent decrease in violations.” There is the solution to most red light violations.
My own incident was with a left turn signal. I had never turned left at 19th street and the Newport Freeway (which Costa Mesa in a frenzy of civic rightousness calls the “Costa Mesa Freeway”, as if people were rushing to Cost Mesa.) until I went to have dinner with my daughter last August, who was living in Costa Mesa at the time. I was the fourth car waiting at the signal for the green arrow. When the signal changed, I moved along following the car ahead of me. At the last moment, less than a car length from the “stop line”, I noticed the light had changed to yellow. Then it turned to red but I thought I was already in the intersection. A few weeks later, a citation arrived. There was a URL that allowed me to look at the video of my “volation.” It was quickly apparent that, unlike every other city in Orange County, the green arrow does not allow the cars in the left turn lane to pass before it changes to yellow, then red. A green arrow that allows only a single car to pass (what the video showed me was the case), is useless. A motorist turning left would do as well without the left turn arrow. My conclusion was that Costa Mesa set this as a trap for unwary motorists who are unfamiliar with the predatory nature of their city.
I pleaded not-guilty and took my chances in court. The judge seemed sympathetic but the final verdict was that I was guilty of crossing the line 0.3 seconds after the light had turned red. There is apparently no law that requires, like a speed trap law, that a city be consistent in the timing of its traffic signals. Costa Mesa goes on its way fleecing motorists who are so unfortunate as to find themselves within its city limits. There is a boycott of Costa Mesa business but most motorists will not realize that they are in the sights of a modern highwayman untl it is too late.
All I can say is caveat viator. And wait for the California Supreme Court to throw out this modern form of “Stand and deliver !”