Red Light Camera News Red Light Cameras One Step Closer to Extinction in Los Angeles
Red Light Cameras One Step Closer to Extinction in Los Angeles
Stories July 26, 2011 5:01 pm
A second Los Angeles City Council committee agreed today to end the red light photo enforcement program at 32 city intersections, though questions remained on how to wind down the program and handle citations that have yet to be paid.
The unanimous vote of the Audits and Governmental Efficiency Committee followed a similar vote taken yesterday by members of the Budget and Finance Committee. The contract with American Traffic Solutions is expected to be voted on by the full city council tomorrow.
An estimated 45,000 of the $480 citations are issued annually, 60 percent of which are paid, according to a report from the chief legislative analyst. However, the city continued to lose money on the program — about $1.5 million in 2008 and another $1 million in 2009.
The program was also criticized because there are no consequences for the 40 percent of drivers who neglect to pay the fine. While unpaid citations are turned over to collections agencies, the Department of Motor Vehicles is not notified of the offense.
“I support ending and terminating enforcement as soon as this contract is up at the end of this month,” said Councilman Mitch Englander, adding that he still wanted Angelenos to follow the rules of the road and pay their tickets.
An outstanding issue that council members hope to resolve by tomorrow is how to handle outstanding tickets once the contract with ATS expires. ATS owns the equipment and therefore has the evidence needed to prove a driver ran a red light or made an illegal turn.
It would cost the Los Angeles Police Department an estimated $250,000 to $500,000 to close out the program. ATS estimated it would cost the company $105,000 for the first two months and an additional $10,000 per month thereafter to handle the outstanding tickets.
“People are going to know there are little or no consequences. Obviously, a lot of those (tickets) that are sitting there are going to be written off because there’s no way sending out another collections letter is going to generate anyone to pay,” said Councilman Dennis Zine.
“So, I think we have to be honest with ourselves and the public to say, those who receive (tickets) between now and the end of the month, if they wish to (voluntarily) pay, we’d be happy to receive that, and those who don’t, the program is going to be discontinued.
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