MRCA Docs - Main Page - Red Light Cams

Yes, this is the webpage with a LOT of info about the tickets from the stop sign cameras found in the hills around LA.

But first, this important political announcement ...

Was Zev Yaroslavsky your County Supervisor? (Until late 2014 he represented the Third District, which includes the central and western San Fernando Valley, Malibu, Santa Monica, Venice, Beverly Hills, the City of West Hollywood, and part of Hollywood.)

During her career in the California Legislature, Kuehl made three attempts to pass bills to allow the use of automated speed enforcement (photo radar) in California.

As an LA County Supervisor, she has a seat on the MTA/Metro board and she will be a vote to continue and expand Metro's huge (101 cameras, so far) red light camera system.

She also voted to put an additional LA County-wide sales tax, to go to Metro, on the Nov. 2016 ballot. (See Measure M on the Action/Legis page, for more about that tax.)

Kuehl will be up for re-election in Nov. 2018 and Nov. 2022.

March 2015: A bill prohibiting stop sign cameras was introduced in the California legislature, but didn't pass. Read about SB 218 on the Action/Legis page.

The fine was $100 in 2007. By early 2011 it had risen to $175, but in early 2012 it was reduced to $100. The lower fine will not be applied, retroactively, to pre-reduction tickets.

The photo enforcement at stop signs is by "fixed" (permanently installed) cameras; the initial contract with RedFlex also called for speed enforcement (photo radar), but that was canceled before it started. The speed enforcement was to be done by mobile units - maybe some recycled from the City of San Jose, which in 2007 was forced to discontinue its RedFlex photo radar program, the only one in the State at that time. (For more info about San Jose, see their page, elsewhere on this site.)

This table made by highwayrobbery.net, using official reports provided by the MRCA under the California Public Records Act.

[ ] indicates a footnote.
[1] Totals are as provided by the MRCA.
[2] These annual totals, annual projections, or quarterly totals, are by highwayrobbery.net.
[3] Un-used columns are to allow for later expansion of MRCA's system.
[4] The figures in red type (or, if you are looking at this table in black and white, the upper figure when there are two or more figures in a cell) are what RedFlex calls Total Violations (later: Total Processed Incidents), or all incidents recorded by the cameras. The figures in black type are citations issued, what RedFlex calls Notices Printed.
Due to time limitations, location-by-location figures have been posted only for selected calendar quarters. Full quarterly data, and data for some calendar months, are available at the links below.
[5] Reports include some individual months.
[6] Per invoices from RedFlex to the MRCA, the camera enforcement is in the compass directions noted. See Set # 2, below, for a location map.
[7] Source data: 12+ months Jul07 - Jul08
[8] Source data: 12 months Aug08 - Jul09
[9] Source data: 1 - 3 month periods, 2008 - 2009
[10] Source data received Jan. 2011
[11] Source data received Jan. 2013
[12] Source data received June 2013
[13] Source data received July 2014
[14] Source data received Aug. 2014
[15] Source data received May 2015
[16] Source data received Oct. 2016 [5]
[17] Source data received Jan. 2017 [5]
[18] Source data received May 2017 [5]
[19] Source data received Oct. 2017 [5]
[20] Source data received July 2018
[21] Source data received Aug. 2018

An Aug. 9, 2012 LAWeekly Article revealed that in early 2012 the fine was reduced to $100. I inquired with MRCA staff to find out if the lower fine will be applied, retroactively, to tickets issued prior to the reduction. It will not.
On Aug. 10, 2012 SaferStreetsLA blogged about the MRCA.
In July 2015 there was an appellate court decision supporting the MRCA.

MRCA Docs Set # 3
The Contract

In 2007 - evidently tired of toiling in obscurity - the MRCA contracted with RedFlex for the installation of two kinds of automated enforcement not permitted by California law (and found nowhere else in California): (1) Photo enforcement at stop signs (illegal because CVC 22450, the usual Code section for a stop sign violation, is not included in CVC 40518, the Code section authorizing the use of a mailed Notice to Appear), and (2) photo enforcement of speed* (illegal because CVC 21455.6 says: "The authorization in Section 21455.5 to use automated enforcement systems does not authorize the use of photo radar for speed enforcement purposes by any jurisdiction").
2006 Staff Report Recommending Signing of Contract - see item V(b) in the report
The MRCA claims that their program is legal:
Feb. 2008 Memo by MRCA's Attorney
Apr. 2008 Informal Opinion by AG

In 2010 two class action suits were filed against the MRCA, and in 2011 and July 2015 there were decisions by the appellate courts (See the Class Actions page.)

A further illegal provision was found in the contract. The contract's Exhibit D specified* that MRCA would pay RedFlex $20 (fixed cam) or $40 (mobile cam) for each image processed, a blatant violation of the CVC 21455.5(g) (as of 2013, CVC 21455.5(h)) prohibition of such "pay-per-ticket" schemes. See Subsection B of Defect # 10.

*In May 2008 the contract was amended to remove the provision for speed
enforcement and to set compensation to RedFlex at a flat rate of $4,400 per
month per camera location. The timing of the amendment coincided with the
failure of SB 1325, a 2008 bill that would have allowed the use of
photo radar throughout California. (In 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2010 there were legislative efforts to allow photo radar. They failed, but photo radar is an idea that won't go away - a new bill was launched in Mar. 2011. See Legislation.)

In June 2012 the MRCA extended the contract for four years, and got the price down to $3900 per camera per month for the first two years and $3750 for the remaining two years.

In March 2015 a bill prohibiting the use of stop sign cameras was introduced in the California legislature - but it did not pass. Read about SB 218 on the Action/Legis page.

In June 2016 the MRCA again extended the contract for four years - to 2020 - and got the price down to $3500 per camera per month.

MRCA Docs Set # 4
More Coming

There may be some more MRCA information posted in the next few weeks. Mark your calendar to remind you to come back here and look!

---------------------------------
RED LIGHT CAMERAS
www.highwayrobbery.net
www.highwayrobbery.net