San Diego Docs - Main Page - Illegal Red Light Cameras

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City of San Diego Documents
(and Information)

San Diego, pop. 1,198,000, is 5 miles north of Tijuana, Mexico, pop. 1,784,000

Program Closed

The last day of operation was Jan. 31, 2013 - see Docs Set # 6, below

Docs Set # 1
Ticket Counts

New 11-3-04, updated 2-5-13

Violations Recorded and Citations Issued

[6]	A EB @ 10th	10th SB @ A	F WB @ 10th	F WB @ 16th	El Ca- jon WB @ 43rd	Blk. Mtn SB @ Mira Mesa Left	Mira Mesa WB @ Blk. Mtn.	Black Mtn. SB @ Gem- ini	Mon- te- zuma EB @ 54th	La Jolla Vill. WB @ Towne Centre Left	La Jolla Vill. EB @ Towne Centre	Im- per- ial WB @ 60th	Im- per- ial WB @ Eu- clid	Har- bor WB @ 32 nd	Mis- sion Bay Dr. NB @ Grand Left	Gar- net EB @ Mis- sion Bay Dr. Left	Gar- net EB @ Mis- sion Bay Dr.	Mis- sion Blvd SB @ Gar- net	Har- bor SB @ Grape [8] Left	Har- bor SB @ Grape	Aero EB @ Mur- phy Cyn Right	Aero WB @ Mur- phy Cyn Left	Mira Mesa EB @ Scran- ton	Gar- net WB @ In- gra- ham	Ber- nardo Ctr NB @ Ran- cho Ber- nardo Right	Car- mel Mtn. EB @ Ran- cho Car- mel Left	Col- lege SB @ Mon- te- zuma Left	Mira- mar WB @ Cam- ino Ruiz	Palm EB @ Be- yer	Mis- sion Ctr. NB @ Cam- ino Del Rio	Qual- comm SB @ Cam- ino Del Rio	Con- voy NB @ Claire- mont Mesa	Wash- ing- ton EB @ Cleve- land	Del Mar Hts. WB @ El Cam- ino	Mira Mesa EB @ West- view	Kear- ny Villa SB @ Bal- boa	Tor- rey Pines NB @ Gen- es- see	Rose- crans SB @ Nim- itz	N o t e s	Total Recorded/ Issued
Sep98					109																833				222				128											2277 833
Oct98					99																410				252				103											2086 864
Nov98					106																392				205				105											2216 808
Dec98					86					412				15							682			461	171		180		55											4986 2062

Jan99					118					265				36							385			357	194		143		43											3662 1541
Feb99					78					353				38							352			573	152		163		12											3728 1621
Mar99					111					245				39							504			401	149		139		17											3819 1605
Apr99				9	96	37				207			14	38		402					390			450	112		160		10											5393 1925
May99				5	106	49				195			29	41		452					399			207	104		144		12											5270 1743
Jun99				6	95	22				200			14	28		441					285			138	124		99		7											5085 1459
Jul99				7	73	62				172			11	22		486					215			353	123		79		5											6021 1608
Aug99				9	77	138				271			13	25		554					335			417	136		155													6278 2130
Sep99				33	82	79				240			21	11		339					440			359	119		164													5235 1887
Oct99				68	80	147				369			26	13		366			1020		559			435	170		143													8461 3396
Nov99				102	72	139				326			26	9		311			1024		621			515	153		119													7916 3417
Dec99				78	65	161				419			16	12		311			1098		756			512	181		104													8883 3713

Jan00				83	61	130				249			27	21		258			1023		541			502	131		66													7376 3092
Feb00	89			46	66	136				212			28	27		215			985		441			429	95		91													7443 2860
Mar00	447			33	78	145				221			26	24		319			1025		393			450	109	140	96	28												9805 3533
Apr00	195			10	81	179		48		201			26	16		314			1247		369		146	363	107	149	105	65												9319 3621
May00	157			13	60	147		110		181			15	22	833	213		85	1112		283		139	285	103	132	134	14												9897 3622
Jun00	173			0	74	133		99		146			20	21	1121	267		172	1004		285		347	229	121	164	75	43												12803 4494
Jul00	163			5	77	175		74		159			12	3	1055	313		214	1077		291		270	286	121	127	67	27												13020 4516
Aug00	154			9	59	195		84		239			17	13	56	264		182	1186		315		317	328	126	46	175	48												11059 3813
Sep00	220			14	52	159		115		201			17	17	56	298		145	929		242		372	340	124	221	154	54												9154 3730
Oct00	160			6	126	163		64		176			36	8	43	220		189	1011		297		245	312	119	135	135	39												8313 3484
Nov00	163			11	72	132		61		292			28	3	37	205		201	1089		408		228	307	105	197	106	46												8231 3691
Dec00	193			1	66	146		64		274			10	7	35	153		145	806		487		122	308	105	115	72	36												7860 3145

Jan01	148			3	51	115		51		163			5	0	6	138		103	749		270		108	254	67	69	50	35												6652 2385
Feb01	117			6	30	83		32		89			7	0	32	147		113	515		163		92	198	62	50	83	24												6569 1843
Mar01	96			8	44	89		39		104			15	9	58	160		81	615		172		61	221	79	55	81	25												7310 2012
Apr01	104			9	14	81		47		72			12	9	34	133		115	983		134		17	177	57	43	67	13												8231 2121
May01	95			5	36	62		25		34			6	2	28	75		13	643		121		29	49	51	23	43	17												7512 1357
Jun01	0			0	0	0		0		0			0	0	-	0		0	-		0		0	0	0	0	0	0												1438 0
1998 - 2001	7109 2674			1725 579	7222 2500	8999 3104		1804 913		16661 6587			2559 477	1353 529	6705 3394	23908 7354		329 1758	62546 19141		36804 12769		5518 2493	21695 10216	9009 4249	6470 1666	6409 3392	2494 514	1089 497											233308 83931 [1]
Jul03		-					-		-		-	-		-			-		-																					-
Aug03		41					97		-		-	-		-			-		-																					448 138
Sep03		35					50		-		-	-		-			-		-																					313 85
Oct03		38					51		25		12	-		-			-		-																					451 126
Nov03		23					98		33		18	-		-			-		-																					583 172
Dec03		31					93		34		22	-		-			-		-																					532 180

Jan04		52					83		23		31	-		-			-		-																					536 189
Feb04		17					67		18		18	-		-			-		-																					515 120
Mar04		36					61		15		25	29		-			-		-																					665 166
Apr04		22					41		17		20	40		-			-		-																					660 140
May04		30					35		7		20	21		4			7		-																					730 124
Jun04		23					34		6		8	23		2			12		-																					736 108
Jul04		21					27		20		12	18		4			15		-																					722 117
Aug04		30					36		25		20	42		7			29		1193 234																					1912 423
Sep04		26					54		17		32	40		5			31		1715 315																					2411 520
Oct04		15					49		14		30	42		6			26		1513 296																					2172 478
Nov04 [8]		33					48		10		29	27		4			30		1185 289																				[8]	1830 470
Dec04
2003- 2004 [10]		1531 473					4125 924		757 264		1274 297	1075 282		177 32			668 150		5606 1134																				[10]	15216 3556 [1]
1998- 2004 [7]																																							[7]	248524 87487
[6] [9]	A EB @ 10th	10th SB @ A	F WB @ 10th	F WB @ 16th	El Ca- jon WB @ 43rd	Blk. Mtn SB @ Mira Mesa Left	Mira Mesa WB @ Blk. Mtn.	Black Mtn. SB @ Gem- ini	Mon- te- zuma EB @ 54th	La Jolla Vill. WB @ Towne Centre Left	La Jolla Vill. EB @ Towne Centre	Im- per- ial WB @ 60th	Im- per- ial WB @ Eu- clid	Har- bor WB @ 32 nd	Mis- sion Bay Dr. NB @ Grand Left	Gar- net EB @ Mis- sion Bay Dr. Left	Gar- net EB @ Mis- sion Bay Dr.	Mis- sion Blvd SB @ Gar- net	Har- bor SB @ Grape [8] Left	Har- bor SB @ Grape	Aero EB @ Mur- phy Cyn Right	Aero WB @ Mur- phy Cyn Left	Mira Mesa EB @ Scran- ton	Gar- net WB @ In- gra- ham	Ber- nardo Ctr NB @ Ran- cho Ber- nardo Right	Car- mel Mtn. EB @ Ran- cho Car- mel Left	Col- lege SB @ Mon- te- zuma Left	Mira- mar WB @ Cam- ino Ruiz	Palm EB @ Be- yer	Mis- sion Ctr. NB @ Cam- ino Del Rio	Qual- comm SB @ Cam- ino Del Rio	Con- voy NB @ Claire- mont Mesa	Wash- ing- ton EB @ Cleve- land	Del Mar Hts. WB @ El Cam- ino	Mira Mesa EB @ West- view	Kear- ny Villa SB @ Bal- boa	Tor- rey Pines NB @ Gen- es- see	Rose- crans SB @ Nim- itz	N o t e s	Total Recorded/ Issued
Jan05
Feb05
Mar05
Apr05
May05
Jun05
Jul05
Aug05
Sep05
Oct05
Nov05
Dec05

Jan06
Feb06
Mar06
Apr06
May06
Jun06
Jul06
Aug06
Sep06
Oct06
Nov06
Dec06

Jan07
Feb07
Mar07
Apr07
May07
Jun07
Jul07
Aug07
Sep07
Oct07
Nov07
Dec07

Jan08
Feb08
Mar08
Apr08
May08
Jun08		86	-													-	54		732	-	-	191	-							-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-		1063
Jul08		79															55		488			220																	[11]
Aug08		98															36		715			193																	[11]
Sep08		85															50		603			188																	[11]
Oct08		76															58		494			201																	[11]
Nov08		67															47		474			181																	[11]
Dec08		66	-													-	41		485	-	-	236	-							-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-		828

Jan09			15																				29							66				10					[11]
Feb09			13																				36							79		21		8					[11]
Mar09			16																				23							62	69	41	106	7					[11]
Apr09			7																				12							65	93	31	122	7	121				[11]
May09			6																				14							67	93	42	112	10	161	1			[11]
Jun09		48	10													-	29		428	-	-	130	22							95	100	31	108	12	123	8	219	45		1408
Jul09																															108	61	146		142	3	37	90	[11]
Aug09																															99		131		127	3	325	82	[11]
Sep09																																			127	9	194	65	[11]
Oct09																																				5	189	53	[11]
Nov09																																					353	41	[11]
Dec09		60	13													72	26		182	14	282	198	26							74	96	30	96	11	121	2	216	28		1543

Jan10
Feb10
Mar10
Apr10
May10
Jun10		69	7													117	36		416	31	248	77	5							68	73	40	80	6	126	6	247	44		1696
Jul10
Aug10
Sep10
Oct10
Nov10
Dec10		65	13													110	16		414	15	285	131	19							127	67	38	85	11	122	9	234	37		1798

Jan11
Feb11
Mar11
Apr11
May11
Jun11		70	6													169	36		315	23	245	76	25							119	101	52	99	23	93	9	248	34		1743
Jul11
Aug11
Sep11
Oct11
Nov11
Dec11		48	17													110	11		393	12	107	167	19							120	90	70	86	6	128	6	243	38		1671

Jan12
Feb12
Mar12
Apr12
May12
Jun12		52	13													72	24		458	42	85	94	23							102	128	54	102	14	88	6	255	42	[12]	1654
Jul12
Aug12
Sep12
Oct12
Nov12
Dec12		43	5													73	18		178	10	98	86	10							57	77	40	52	4	81	8	173	5	[12]	1018

[6] [9]	A EB @ 10th	10th SB @ A	F WB @ 10th	F WB @ 16th	El Ca- jon WB @ 43rd	Blk. Mtn SB @ Mira Mesa Left	Mira Mesa WB @ Blk. Mtn.	Black Mtn. SB @ Gem- ini	Mon- te- zuma EB @ 54th	La Jolla Vill. WB @ Towne Centre Left	La Jolla Vill. EB @ Towne Centre	Im- per- ial WB @ 60th	Im- per- ial WB @ Eu- clid	Har- bor WB @ 32 nd	Mis- sion Bay Dr. NB @ Grand Left	Gar- net EB @ Mis- sion Bay Dr. Left	Gar- net EB @ Mis- sion Bay Dr.	Mis- sion Blvd SB @ Gar- net	Har- bor SB @ Grape [8] Left	Har- bor SB @ Grape	Aero EB @ Mur- phy Cyn Right	Aero WB @ Mur- phy Cyn Left	Mira Mesa EB @ Scran- ton	Gar- net WB @ In- gra- ham	Ber- nardo Ctr NB @ Ran- cho Ber- nardo Right	Car- mel Mtn. EB @ Ran- cho Car- mel Left	Col- lege SB @ Mon- te- zuma Left	Mira- mar WB @ Cam- ino Ruiz	Palm EB @ Be- yer	Mis- sion Ctr. NB @ Cam- ino Del Rio	Qual- comm SB @ Cam- ino Del Rio	Con- voy NB @ Claire- mont Mesa	Wash- ing- ton EB @ Cleve- land	Del Mar Hts. WB @ El Cam- ino	Mira Mesa EB @ West- view	Kear- ny Villa SB @ Bal- boa	Tor- rey Pines NB @ Gen- es- see	Rose- crans SB @ Nim- itz	N o t e s	Total Recorded/ Issued

San Diego Docs Set # 2
More Reading

A lot has been written about San Diego's cameras. Here are links to some of it.

The Original Sin - Revealed by Their Own Documents
Before San Diego started up its first camera system, they had to select the intersections where the cameras would be placed. This internal memo shows that their focus was on money, not safety.

2001 Think Tank Study of San Diego's First Camera System
In 2001, the San Diego Police Department contracted with PB Farradyne to conduct a review of the City's red light photo enforcement program.
The report (2559 K pdf) included this graph showing the effect of lengthening the yellows at a number of the City's camera-monitored intersections. (Figure 6-1, p. 79 of the document, or p. 96 of the pdf.)

Farradyne: Longer yellows = lower violations

The Farradyne study also included this table comparing the effectiveness of cameras (enforcement) vs. engineering countermeasures (lengthening yellows, better intersection markings, etc.). (Table 6-3, p. 80 of the document, or p. 97 of the pdf.)

Farradyne: Effect of countermeasures

A Compilation on a Private Website, from 2002
http://www.hwysafety.com/nma_rlc_timeline4.htm

See the entries for Jan. 14, 2002, which discuss the effect of the lengthening of the yellow lights, as documented in Chap. 6 of the Farradyne report.

Armey's Website

Congressman Dick Armey's website contained a number of items about San Diego. There is a replica of his website here on highwayrobbery.net, at: The Red Light Running Crisis - Is It Intentional?

The Grace Time: Lengthened, then Eliminated

In June 2001, due to the fallout from the People v. John Allen case (see Set # 3, below), the City shut the program down.

In Sept. 2002 the city manager submitted a report to the city council, about re-starting the system. In his report, he recommended that there be a 0.5 second grace period, and that the minimum yellow light length throughout the City be increased to 3.4 seconds from the then-current 3.0 seconds.

When the City re-opened the program in 2003, it began allowing a 0.5 second (half second) grace period on all tickets.

Then, on July 18, 2006 the city council authorized the elimination of the grace period, allowing tickets to be issued for as little as 0.1 second (one tenth) late. The staff report said:

"Of the 36,400 violations that could have been issued, 65% or 23,660 were not issued due to the 'grace period.'"

Without a grace period, they would be able to issue nearly three times as many tickets! The motion to eliminate the grace period passed 6 - 2 (nays: Maienschein, Madaffer).

Two Nov. 2007 reports to the council discussed the hiring of ATS to run the system (in place of original vendor ACS), and the effect of the elimination of the grace period.

The City's Website

The City maintains a webpage with a lot of red light camera info on it. The City's FAQ about the length of the yellow lights says that in San Diego the minimum length for a yellow light is 3.4 seconds on a turn and 3.9 seconds for straight through.

San Diego Docs Set # 3
The Dismissals in 2001 - People v. John Allen

P. v. John Allen included numerous briefs by both sides, and numerous rulings by the judge. Here are some of them.

San Diego Docs Set # 4
Dirty Deeds, Part I

New 8-19-05

In August 2005, I got this email. I have had a couple previous emails about this happening with old San Diego tickets. Does the San Diego City government have no shame?

If this has happened to you too, let me know.

Dear Mr. Editor:

A funny thing happened on the way to the gas station. Well, I don't know if it is REALLY funny, but you have to read about this.

Yesterday, I went to the gas pump to put gas into my car (so far so good right?). The pump, equipped with accepting debit/credit cards, refused to take my card. So I went into the store and the woman there said my card had been declined. Well, being unemployed I knew I didn't have a LOT of money in the account but even with the high price of gas in CA right now, I knew I had more than enough for a tank of gas. I used cash for my gas and went along my merry way. After a job interview, I went to the ATM at a branch of the bank I use. My card was refused and the little paper said that there may be a problem with my account. So I went into the bank. My Vice President of Customer Service inputted my account number and told me that my account had been closed and was referred to "Legal Process". I asked her what that meant. She tried to explain it to me and I am sure she was doing a great job HOWEVER I had no clue what she was taking about. She made a phone call or two for me and let me talk to a representative in Legal Process. They told me that they couldn't really tell me anything except that the CALIFORNIA FRANCHISE TAX BOARD put a "levy" on my funds and had withdrawn EVERY PENNY I HAD IN MY ACCOUNT to pay for "something". I called the FTB and they told me it was about a traffic ticket and that they couldn't tell me anything else except the case number.

The next morning I called a collection agency and he told me that the case number referenced a traffic violation dated: November xx, 1999. Yes, you read that right ... 1999. I went to the referenced Superior Court and spoke with a representative from the collection agency. All she could tell me were the details and made me a copy of the citation. Apparently, on November xx, 1999 in the city of San Diego, California, I ran a red light and the camera took a picture. I swear on a stack of God's Holy Bibles ... I NEVER received notification of this violation. Never, in the almost 6 - repeat - SIX years since the violation have I EVER received ANY notification of this ticket. As a responsible citizen, I would have taken care of this ticket in 1999 when it happened.

So, SIX YEARS LATER, I have monies withdrawn from my account (oh, did I mention that I am Unemployed and the monies were extremely important to me?).

I chose to appear before the judge in Traffic Court (for a ticket almost SIX YEARS OLD). When my name was called, I rose and went to podium. In paraphrase, this is what the judge determined and told me: use of the red light camera was deemed illegal for the year I was given the ticket. My case was "dismissed" and my civil assessment fee was waived. Let's all rejoice over that OK? And I am sincerely thankful that the case was dismissed and the fee waived. BUT, my money that was taken by the FTB will NOT be returned to me anytime soon. The clerk, while giving me instructions and having me sign the paper I need to carry around with me until further notice, told me that I will receive a check from the FTB in about TWO MONTHS. Did you read that slowly? The money, that was erroneously taken out of my account for a ticket that was deemed unlawful will be returned in TWO MONTHS. For someone Unemployed, two months is two months too long. Also, I went to my bank today (they listened so wonderfully) and she told me that I probably will NOT get my bank fee of $60 returned. WHAT? A traffic ticket that was deemed unlawful that has taken SIX YEARS for collections to finally notify me and I HAVE TO PAY for a fee that I should never have received at all?

Like I said: A funny thing happened on the way to the gas station yesterday. That attempt to pump gas resulted in a whirlwind of activity. What resources are available to me and what do you suggest I do now?

Sincerely,

Motorist in San Diego, CA

Another Dirty Deed is in More Reading, above. See the item entitled The Original Sin.

San Diego Docs Set # 5
Dirty Deeds, Part Duh

In October 2006 I was trying to contact the court San Diego Superior Court Records Department, to get a copy of a brief I wanted to put up on the People vs. John Allen page (see Docs Set # 3, above). My old number for Records was no good anymore - it just led me in circles, listening to endless menus where I could listen to endless recorded info. So, I started calling other numbers. One that I called was the main number for the central traffic court, (858) 565-1006. I heard this recorded message*:
"For red light photo enforced citations issued by the City of San Diego Police Department, if you did not own the vehicle or were not the driver, please call the Traffic Violations Bureau at (800) 369-5352 for information on how to proceed."
That was all that the recording had to say about dealing with "not-the-driver"San Diego red light camera tickets, and it seemed misleading. Next, I called the "Traffic Violations Bureau," ("TVB"). My call was answered immediately, by "Yolanda."
Me: How do I proceed if I was not the driver?
Yolanda: You have to identify the driver.
Me: Do I have a choice?
Yolanda: You could go to court and contest the ticket.
After I asked Yolanda the right question ("Do I have a choice?"), she didn't mislead me; she provided accurate info, that I could go to court. So, you may be wondering why I'm writing this up.
The court is supposed to be neutral territory between litigants - the City and the motorists it is prosecuting. As such the court should not be telling motorists who have phoned it that they should call the City or their contractor, the TVB. At the very least, if the court is going to provide the number for the TVB, the court's recorded message should not give the impression that calling the TVB is the sole option. First (or "top") billing should be given to pointing out that someone who was not the driver can stay on the line, and make a court appointment. Further, the recording should make it clear that the very official sounding "Traffic Violations Bureau" is actually a private for-profit company - if the TVB is to be mentioned at all.

Immediately after the recorded passage about San Diego tickets (above), there was this:
"If you were issued a red light photo enforcement citation by the Poway sheriff please call (858) 513-2800 or 513-2888 to schedule an appointment."
That was all the recording had to say about dealing with Poway camera tickets.
I didn't call the Poway sheriff, but am pretty sure that he would have told me to ID the driver.
My objection to the Poway portion of the court's recording is basically the same as above: Why is the court directing a litigant to contact his opponent, and not speaking of the option to stay on the line and make a court appointment?
*Please note that what I heard was the daytime recorded message. The after-hours message is different.

San Diego Docs Set # 6
The Contract - Program Ended Jan. 31, 2013

The contract is available on the City's website.

City of San Diego Docs Set # 7
Cameras at Risk?

In June 2012 it was reported that thieves stole components of the camera systems in Cerritos, another ATS customer.