There are TWO articles on this page! San Mateo County Superior Court executive questions use of red-light cameras By Joshua Melvin San Mateo County Times Posted: 11/13/2009 04:37:30 PM PST Updated: 11/13/2009 05:39:03 PM PST REDWOOD CITY —— Drivers who get hit with a red light camera citation might have an unlikely ally: San Mateo County Superior Court. Court Executive Officer John Fitton said people are spending a lot of money on red light camera tickets and the court is being pushed to its capacity limits for a program that he says may be out of balance. "Are we doing right by the public?" he asked. He said safety, which is the apparent objective of the cameras, is a good thing, but questioned if the $446 fine that comes with a red light camera citation is too high for most people to pay, especially during poor economic times. Fitton wonders if ticketing a driver who rolls through a stop while making a right hand turn at an intersection is necessary, given the hefty cost of the ticket. "It's questionable whether the trade-offs are appropriate," he said. "There is no question that agencies are making money." The court paid out about $1.7 million this year to the seven police agencies in San Mateo County that have red light cameras. Cities get between 27 and 32 percent of the fine, the state pulls in 44 percent and the county gets between 23 and 28 percent, according to court sources. But the court itself gets almost none of the money being generated by the tickets, he said, and must take on the massive workload associated with them. "There's a balance there, and I don't think we have found it," he said. Peninsula drivers angry over red light cameras Authorities insist traffic-light devices increase safety at intersections By Joshua Melvin San Mateo County Times Posted: 11/13/2009 05:37:10 PM PST Updated: 11/13/2009 08:09:55 PM PST SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO — Police say it's too early to tell whether a pair of new red-light cameras in the city have reduced accidents or will pay for themselves, but a mob of angry area residents who have received high-priced citations say the devices won't do much but empty their pockets. South San Francisco drivers are just the latest to join a long-running battle between San Mateo County residents, who have said the cameras are just a way for officials to fill empty coffers, and authorities, who say the devices save lives by reducing collisions. Some cities have only had the cameras a short time while others have had several years to see how well the cameras work. The results are mixed so far. Poll * Should cities use red-light cameras? While some officials said the cameras have had a big impact on safety, others weren't sure, and revenue isn't exactly pouring in — except for San Mateo and Millbrae. At the same time, other cities like San Bruno and Belmont are looking into installing the cameras or waiting for state approval, while Hillsborough doesn't have enough traffic and Atherton hasn't decided yet. What other cities do didn't matter much to area residents who showed up at traffic court Thursday morning to fight the tickets they got at one of South San Francisco's two red-light camera intersections. "This is crazy," said San Bruno resident Angie Lucchesi while standing in a group of roughly 40 people who had come to traffic court. "It's just more revenue for the city." The tickets carry a $446 fine, but only about a third of that goes to the city that issues the citation. Jonathan Newman, of Pacifica, who was looking for answers about why he got a ticket, agreed, saying, "I'm seriously considering paintballing (the camera), but I'm not that good of a shot." Both said they were innocent and, like a lot of other people at court that day, they wanted to see the footage. The cameras shoot a short burst of video. South San Francisco police Sgt. Bruce Phillips said many people who get citations respond the way Newman and Lucchesi did, until they see the images of themselves breaking the law. Drivers have to be behind the stop line before the light turns red and, if they aren't, it's a ticket, he said. "One hundred percent of the people who see the footage have pleaded no contest," he said Thursday. But whether that conviction rate will mean a reduction in accidents or enough citation money to cover the $31,500 flat fee South San Francisco has to pay to American Traffic Solutions, which is responsible for installing and maintaining the cameras, isn't clear yet, McPhillips said. The city started issuing citations Aug. 15. However, if the cameras turn a profit, that money will go to special fund for traffic enforcement, he said. The impact of red-light cameras is clearest in San Mateo, where cameras have been snapping pictures of drivers since April 2004. In that city, accidents are down significantly at one intersection but mostly unchanged at another two. After expenses, San Mateo netted $121,000 this year, which is down from the 2007 high of $389,000, said Deputy Chief Mike Callagy. He said there was one reported accident at Hillsdale Boulevard and Saratoga Avenue last year, compared with 11 in 2007. In Daly City — which got its first red-light camera in March 2008 and now has four, the most in any of the Bayside Peninsula's 19 cities — the devices appear to have reduced accidents and have produced a $30,000 profit. The 22 percent drop in collisions the city has seen could be an aberration, said Officer Terry Chew, who is assigned to the red-light unit. But he attributed the decrease to the cameras and the signs placed around town warning drivers that they are being watched. The city has shelled out roughly $139,300 in fees to the company Redflex and has gotten about $169,300 in citation money, which means the city has made a profit of about $30,000 so far, Chew said. A bit further south, in Millbrae, it's not clear if the cameras, in place since July 2008, have reduced accidents. Millbrae police Sgt. John Aronis said there were some technical problems with the camera at Rollins Road and Millbrae Avenue, which meant it was less effective than it could have been. As a result, he didn't have hard numbers of the impact on safety, he said. The only figure immediately available showed 13 collisions at the intersection between 2004 and 2005, while the most recent numbers indicate there have been nine accidents at the same spot since January, according to the Millbrae Police Department. But after $492,000 in expenses last year for the cameras, the city still cleared $191,000, which ended up in the general fund, said Aronis. The sole camera in Burlingame has only been in operation for about six months, but it isn't making money and may or may not have had an impact on safety, said Burlingame police Traffic Sgt. Don Shepley. The city had 12 reported accidents last year, which seems low, but the count only includes collisions for which an officer wrote a report. Officers are only obligated to write up an accident report if someone is injured. When no one gets hurt, the people involved can refuse a report. The city spends about $5,800 a month for the camera, but because of a lag in getting fines from the court, it has only collected roughly $10,500 so far. "I don't think it will be a revenue-generator. We're just hoping to not lose money," Shepley said. null By the numbers Why does a red light camera ticket cost $446? Here is a breakdown of what cited drivers are paying for: * $100 base fine * $100 state penalty assessment goes to a variety of funds including the state fish and game fund, traumatic brain injury fund or the Victims-Witness fund * $70 penalty can be invested by state agencies in securities * $50 state court construction surcharge pays for acquiring, renovating or building courts * $35 conviction assessment goes toward court construction * $30 court security fee pays for security in trial courts * $20 state surcharge goes to the state general fund * $20 EMS fund helps cover the cost of uncompensated medical care * $10 DNA fund pays for the San Mateo County portion of DNA Fingerprint, Unsolved Crime and Innocence Protection Act * $10 DNA fund pays for the same act as above, but statewide * $1 night court fee helps cover the cost of evening court Source: San Mateo County Superior Court