San Mateo Docs - Main Page - Illegal Red Light Cameras

If you haven't already done so, please read the San Mateo section on the Camera Towns page

City of San Mateo Documents
(Program Closed in 2019)
(Including Countywide/Grand Jury Information - See Set # 5)

San Mateo, pop. 91,000, is 15 miles south of San Francisco.

Some of San Mateo's tickets can be ignored. If your "ticket" does not have the Superior Court's name and address on it, it is what I call a "Snitch Ticket." For more details, see the Snitch Ticket section on the Your Ticket page.

In late 2015 there was a dismissal of nearly 1000 San Mateo tickets. And then in 2019 there was another big dismissal. See Set # 4, below.

Contacting State, City and other Bay Area Officials

State Senator Jerry Hill: In early 2018 Sen. Hill introduced SB 1132 which, had it passed, would have reduced the fine for a rolling right violation.
Sen. Hill hosts frequent events (Java with Jerry, open houses) around his district, which includes the red light camera cities of Millbrae, San Mateo (closed in 2019) and Menlo Park (closed in 2019). For information about attending an event, see highwayrobbery.net's Millbrae Docs page or phone Hill's office at (650) 212-3313.

If you will be boycotting San Mateo businesses, please send the following groups a little note.

Mayor and City Council, c/o: citymanager@cityofsanmateo.org

Chamber of Commerce: info@sanmateoca.org

If you have a ticket from the City of San Mateo, be sure to contact me!

East Bay Voters:

Do you live in Alameda County or the North end of Santa Clara County - State Sen. Ellen Corbett's former District?

In 2014 Sen. Corbett "termed out," and has been replaced by this person

Wieckowski, Author of the anti-motorist bills SB 246, SB 1 and AB 666

who will be running for re-election to the State Senate in 2022 if his current run for Alameda County Supervisor doesn't work out.

In March 2020 please don't vote for him for Supervisor.

Send him back home to his bankruptcy law practice.

As of 2019 he still is in the State Legislature in Sacramento and was the author of SB 246 of 2019 (had it passed it would have added a 10% tax to each barrel of oil).
In 2017 he was co-author of SB 1 which raised gas tax and car registration fees beginning Nov. 2017 and which was the subject of an attempted repeal, by Prop. 6 on the Nov. 2018 ballot.

In 2013 he was the author of AB 666 which - had it passed - would have increased the number of red light camera tickets.
Before reaching the Legislature he was a member of the Fremont City Council, and during his time on the council he approved two extensions of Fremont's contract with RedFlex: He was the maker of the 2005 motion to extend the contract to 2010, and in 2010 he made the motion to extend the contract to June 2017.

City Docs Set # 1
Ticket Counts

Total Violations Recorded, Notices Printed [4]

Updated 10-29-19

Cam #	4HU 01	HINO 01	HINO 03	HISA 01	SAHI 01
	4th EB @ Humboldt	Hillsdale & Norfolk [6]	Hillsdale & Norfolk [6]	Hillsdale EB @ Saratoga	Saratoga SB @ Hillsdale Right	[3]	Notices Printed, Monthly Average	Total Notices Printed as % of Violations Recorded	Total Violations Recorded/ Notices Printed Per Official Monthly CMR Reports [1] [4]	Total Citations Issued/ Rolling Right Citations Per CVC 21455.5(i) Annual Reports [14]	Revenue from Court (thou- sands) [16]
Apr05
May05		0 0	0 0	101 82	149 110			77%	250 192
Jun05		0 0	0 0	229 164	484 347			72%	713 511
Jul05		0 0	35 33	229 157	970 581			64%	1234 771
Aug05		359 251	346 249	144 96	1307 473			50%	2156 1069
Sep05		257 176	124 77	181 122	1219 552			52%	1781 927
Oct05		188 143	211 141	167 111	1946 533			37%	2512 928
Nov05
Dec05
2005 [7]		1158 815	952 636	1334 928	8115 3647			52%	11559 6026
Jan06	0 0	88 52	122 57	107 61	791 422			53%	1108 592
Feb06
Mar06
Apr06
May06
Jun06
Jul06	0 0	115 63	221 104	131 69	983 503			51%	1450 739
Aug06
Sep06									1162 702
Oct06									1204 731
Nov06									1692 976
Dec06									1590 1033
2006 [2]							796 (proj.)		9546 (proj.)
Jan07	398 307	83 69	133 87	84 51	766 451			66%	1464 965
Feb07
Mar07									1242 674
Apr07									1190 678
May07
Jun07
Jul07	430 271	26 17	165 100	70 35	315 193			61%	1006 616
Aug07
Sep07									1050 628
Oct07									1180 771
Nov07
Dec07
2007 [2]							722 (proj.)		8664 (proj.)
Jan08	288 211	69 38	124 88	26 15	451 263			64%	958 615
Feb08
Mar08									1045 721
Apr08									1182 700
May08
Jun08
Jul08	325 188	73 32	177 106	47 24	636 347			55%	1258 697
Aug08
Sep08									1039 561
Oct08									1214 747
Nov08
Dec08
2008 [2]							674 (proj.)		8082 (proj.)
Cam #	4HU 01	HINO 01	HINO 03	HISA 01	SAHI 01
	4th EB @ Humboldt	Hillsdale & Norfolk [6]	Hillsdale & Norfolk [6]	Hillsdale EB @ Saratoga	Saratoga SB @ Hillsdale Right	[3]	Notices Printed, Monthly Average	Total Notices Printed as % of Violations Recorded	Total Violations Recorded/ Notices Printed [1] [4]
Jan09	219 178	31 21	127 75	39 26	723 336			56%	1139 636
Feb09
Mar09									978 566
Apr09									954 539
May09
Jun09
Jul09	176 111	30 21	86 34	31 15	557 261			50%	880 442
Aug09
Sep09									843 500
Oct09									848 526
Nov09
Dec09
2009 [2]							535 (proj.)		6418 (proj.)
Cam #	4HU 01	HINO 01	HINO 03	HISA 01	SAHI 01
Jan10	137 117	29 22	55 37	10 0	340 236			72%	571 412
Feb10
Mar10	136 113	22 17	85 67	19 13	640 315				902 525
Apr10	185 150	37 23	51 32	17 2	773 321			50%	1063 528
May10
Jun10
Jul10	210 149	31 19	81 52	29 17	769 269			45%	1120 506
67 Months 2005 - 2010 [8]	12356 8233	4779 3091	8057 4945	5080 3162	43744 23436		640 [2]	58%	74016 42867
Aug10
Sep10	225 166	36 20	64 19	21 7	761 255			42%	1107 467
Oct10	218 162	32 17	82 37	27 4	669 257				1028 477
Nov10
Dec10
2010 [2]							486 (proj.)		5830 (proj.)
Jan11	183 151	24 10	75 57	21 11	582 197			48%	885 426
Feb11
Mar11	175 115	24 14	67 46	16 9	446 197				728 381
Apr11	178 125	27 15	84 58	26 9	594 260			51%	909 467
May11
Jun11
Jul11	221 130	28 13	91 61	17 13	683 246			45%	1040 463
Aug11
Sep11	248 156	39 23	112 75	37 18	635 206				1071 478
Oct11	224 131	35 18	97 67	33 16	667 229			44%	1056 461
Nov11
Dec11
2011 [2]							454 (proj.)		5352 (proj.)
Cam #	4HU 01	HINO 01	HINO 03	HISA 01	SAHI 01
Jan12	202 141	43 14	88 60	21 13	601 184			43%	955 412
Feb12	194 136	33 14	83 62	5 3	484 175			49%	799 390
Mar12	191 127	42 15	81 57	13 7	574 217			47%	901 423
Apr12	209 124	35 17	79 53	24 9	665 255			45%	1012 458
May12	285 152	48 21	81 65	58 39	736 372			54%	1208 649
Jun12	256 170	46 25	101 79	53 35	641 285			54%	1097 594
Jul12	227 159	37 23	117 95	48 42	792 383			57%	1221 702
Aug12	237 178	39 23	101 79	48 28	668 351			60%	1093 659
Sep12	270 186	34 18	111 82	59 40	751 377			57%	1225 703
Oct12	303 213	32 17	100 80	45 26	718 350			57%	1198 686
Nov12	243 196	45 25	89 71	40 26	561 245			58%	978 563
Dec12	118 95	44 34	107 76	35 22	487 254			61%	791 481
2012 [2]	2735 1877	478 246	1138 859	449 290	7678 3448		560	54%	12478 6720
90 Months Apr2005 - Nov2012 [11] [2]							633		102688 56990
Jan13	190 141	37 21	88 75	18 12	573 297			60%	906 546
Feb13	170 115	29 15	117 86	16 10	528 240			54%	860 466
Mar13	201 140	39 22	105 86	26 13	548 301			61%	919 562
Apr13	204 140	37 28	91 74	18 9	620 337			61%	970 588
May13	272 172	33 24	111 83	22 13	689 385			60%	1127 677
Jun13	282 201	51 35	127 99	17 10	573 308			62%	1050 653
Jul13	130 84	41 33	90 79	27 18	558 314			62%	846 528
Aug13	144 84	41 29	118 101	34 25	677 343			57%	1014 582
Sep13	146 99	39 28	116 89	25 16	701 325			54%	1027 557
Oct13	160 122	54 38	91 74	38 32	646 353			63%	989 619
Nov13	182 141	43 23	107 88	32 25	634 340			62%	998 617
Dec13	158 115	49 22	81 66	30 21	485 204			53%	803 428
2013 [2]	2239 1554	493 318	1242 1000	303 204	7232 3747		568	59%	11509 6823	5423 3120
Cam #	4HU 01	HINO 01	HINO 03	HISA 01	SAHI 01
Jan14	115 70	34 21	81 55	34 25	527 281			57%	791 452
Feb14 [10]	110 81	46 30	72 52	19 14	432 238			61%	679 415
Mar14	117 72	45 28	75 58	29 23	599 311			61%	865 492
Apr14	113 75	45 32	80 53	24 15	646 339			57%	908 514
May14	114 71	81 62	120 49	43 26	647 273			48%	1005 481
Jun14	105 71	74 49	152 83	40 20	422 151			47%	793 374
Jul14	79 53	70 43	117 70	41 23	911 334			43%	1218 523
Aug14	115 67	59 39	170 80	43 29	920 377			45%	1307 592
Sep14	94 54	62 45	137 64	42 22	688 306			48%	1023 491
Oct14	100 70	49 36	166 85	50 20	792 284			43%	1157 495
Nov14	68 34	48 36	119 37	28 15	753 295			41%	1016 417
Dec14	49 32	70 49	108 50	70 46	644 247			45%	941 424
2014 [1]	1190 759	686 472	1409 744	472 284	8047 3471		478	49%	11804 5730	4462 2825
Jan15	88 71	42 28	105 53	64 46	732 312			49%	1031 510
Feb15	93 67	52 35	90 45	36 19	705 280			46%	976 446
Mar15	115 70	80 46	112 53	57 27	850 286			40%	1214 482
Apr15	54 39	65 47	111 63	59 37	712 299			48%	1001 485
May15	94 53	63 43	157 91	63 36	846 327			45%	1223 550
Jun15	117 87	82 54	134 80	73 41	968 418			49%	1374 680
Jul15	130 84	55 28	174 107	60 44	859 347			48%	1278 610
Aug15 [12]	123 75	88 53	159 83	71 46	783 319			47%	1224 576
Sep15 [12]	150 95	79 50	161 99	67 37	920 370			47%	1377 651
Oct15 [12]	130 85	72 46	147 71	68 40	830 227			38%	1247 469
Nov15	123 84	41 23	104 43	50 27	770 273			41%	1088 450
Dec15	140 95	21 13	113 54	64 41	838 310			44%	1176 513
2015 [2]	1357 905	740 466	1567 842	732 441	9813 3768		535	45%	14209 6422	4790 2898
Jan16	141 93	31 19	115 43	66 44	854 297			41%	1207 497		39
Feb16	133 94	36 22	93 46	61 42	830 340			47%	1153 544		37
Mar16	111 61	42 16	124 50	41 20	939 273			33%	1257 420		44
Apr16	130 68	34 20	116 58	34 15	738 207			35%	1052 368		20
May16	170 77	29 11	115 40	77 35	978 270			32%	1369 433		36
Jun16	130 34	49 24	102 47	56 12	1029 289			30%	1366 406		27
Jul16	93 48	46 28	133 63	70 30	1129 320			33%	1471 489		28
Aug16	116 60	37 28	117 56	74 29	1077 344			36%	1421 517		35
Sep16	130 68	25 12	111 51	58 21	935 290			35%	1259 442		31
Oct16	109 57	38 17	129 62	81 41	998 325			37%	1355 502		30
Nov16	140 92	55 29	119 47	32 19	1035 265			33%	1381 452		28
Dec16	119 85	65 36	110 35	96 76	1036 320			39%	1426 552		27
2016 [1]	1522 837	487 262	1384 598	746 384	11578 3540		469	36%	15717 5622	3232 2101
Jan17	105 67	32 19	104 46	67 48	1039 378			41%	1347 558		34
Feb17	103 69	46 31	71 37	64 47	728 323			50%	1012 507		30
Mar17	109 75	57 38	87 53	62 49	898 410			52%	1213 625		30
Apr17	118 47	44 17	115 44	74 41	992 278			32%	1343 427		29
May17	120 60	179 84	104 61	70 47	1124 537			49%	1597 789		39
Jun17 [13]	110 64	748 409	113 70	62 40	944 516			56%	1977 1099		32
Jul17 [13]	116 42	795 308	128 47	82 36	1000 317			35%	2121 750		37
Aug17	167 50	664 199	136 34	58 13	830 217			28%	1855 513		47
Sep17	160 60	703 227	117 29	67 21	918 210			28%	1965 547		47
Oct17	175 66	633 167	135 38	49 13	1028 288			28%	2020 572		53
Nov17	141 66	554 218	119 24	75 17	896 224			31%	1785 549		49
Dec17	33 16	663 274	100 24	88 19	996 231			30%	1880 564		51
2017 [2]	1457 682	5118 1991	1329 507	818 391	11393 3929		625	45%	20115 7500	4812 3679
Jan18	148 62	517 193	115 23	49 14	894 233			30%	1723 525		53
Feb18	191 96	443 166	149 44	62 19	861 237			33%	1706 562		50
Mar18	188 89	419 165	166 45	65 26	970 269			33%	1808 594		53
Apr18	142 47	325 97	118 28	44 15	701 145			25%	1330 332		56
May18	181 76	455 168	176 60	100 33	922 263			33%	1834 600		59
Jun18	222 118	497 262	164 60	72 29	975 273			38%	1930 742		52
Jul18	227 116	478 225	141 49	82 30	1049 333			38%	1977 753		56
Aug18	216 91	486 198	165 51	76 28	1115 320			33%	2058 688		64
Sep18	242 116	459 167	154 39	94 31	1045 300			33%	1994 653		56
Oct18	236 123	400 158	154 47	109 30	1158 352			35%	2057 710		54
Nov18	213 92	406 147	124 30	103 20	874 239			31%	1720 528		66
Dec18	213 108	297 144	121 24	119 31	844 258			35%	1594 565		45
2018 [2]	2419 1134	5182 2090	1747 500	975 306	11408 3222		604	33%	21731 7252
Jan19											45
Feb19											34
Mar19											62
Apr19											57
May19											45
Jun19											43
Jul16											16
Aug19	C	L	O	S	E		D				-65
Sep19	See	Set	# 3	below
Oct19
Nov19
Dec19
2019
Speed Limit [9] Left Yellow Through Yellow	30 3.6 3.6	35 3.2 3.8	35 3.2 3.8	35 3.2 3.9 (3.8)	30 - 3.4
Cam #	4HU 01	HINO 01	HINO 03	HISA 01	SAHI 01
	4th EB @ Humboldt [4]	Hillsdale Ebd at Norfolk [4] [6] [13]	Hillsdale & Norfolk [4] [6]	Hillsdale EB @ Saratoga [4]	Saratoga SB @ Hillsdale Right [4]	[3]	Notices Printed, Monthly Average [4]	Total Notices Printed as % of Violations Recorded [4]	Total Violations Recorded/ Notices Printed Per Official Monthly CMR Reports [1] [4]	Total Citations Issued/ Rolling Right Citations Per CVC 21455.5(i) Annual Reports [14]	Revenue from Court (thou- sands) [16]

This table made by highwayrobbery.net, using official documents obtained under the California Public Records Act.

Official reports, Jan. 2005 to Jul. 2010 (67 months) & Sep. 2010 [8]
Official reports, monthly, six-month intervals, Jan. 2005 to Jul. 2010
Official reports, 2010 & 2011 quarters, 2012 monthly
Official reports, July to Sept. 2012
Official reports, Sept. 2012 - Apr. 2013, and Overall Total to Nov. 2012 [11]
Official reports, May 2013 to July 2014
Official reports, Sept. 2006 to Sept. 2014
Official reports, 2007 to Dec. 2014
Official reports, 2007 to Apr. 2015
Official report, 2014 Annual
Official reports, May to Nov. 2015
Official reports, Dec. 2015 to Mar. 2016
Official reports, Apr. to Nov. 2016
Official reports, Dec. 2016, 2016 Annual, & Jan. 2017
Official reports, Jan. to July 2017
Official reports, Aug. 2017 - Apr. 2018
Official reports, May to Dec. 2018

[ ] indicates a footnote.
[1] This annual total was provided by the City.
[2] This annual total, annual projection, or average, is by highwayrobbery.net. The projection for 2018 is based upon Jan. - Apr. data.
[3] Un-used columns are to allow for later expansion of City's system.
[4] Except where noted otherwise, the figures given in the table are for the single calendar month indicated. Any 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, or all incidents recorded by the cameras. The figures in black type are what RedFlex calls Notices Printed, and represent the sum of genuine citations issued (those filed with the court) plus any Nominations mailed (not filed with the court, a.k.a. Snitch Tickets). Due to time limitations data may have been posted to the table only for selected months or locations. If there is sufficient public interest, the remaining months or locations will be posted. Full official data has been received and is available at one of the links given above.
[5] Data was requested on: 4-28-15.
[6] The camera enforcement is believed to be on traffic on the first-named street, but the direction of enforcement (north, south, east, west, thru, left, right) is not yet available.
[7] Entire year 2005 including November and December.
[8] Report (linked above) covers Jan. 2005 to Jul. 2010.
[9] In Aug. 2012 I received a Nov. 2011 memo which listed the length of the yellows. Those lengths have been entered at the bottom of the table, above. In June 2015 I received a Jan. 2015 memo which showed that the yellow for EB Hillsdale/Saratoga had been shortened. The shorter time has been entered above, in ( ).
[10] The report for this month was generated close to the end of the month so the figures may be low. Or, the reporting
period may have been entered incorrectly.
[11] For purposes of averaging, the 2005 - 2012 report (linked above) has been treated as covering 90 months.
[12] Almost 1000 tickets from these months were dismissed, in late 2015. See Set # 4, below.

An official report showed that in 2016, 65% of the City's tickets were for right turns.

City Docs Set # 3
The Contract: Paying RedFlex Way Too Much (Closed in 2019)

Cost Neutrality: San Mateo Ignored Warning by Police Association

The City of San Mateo signed its first contract with RedFlex in May 2004. The contract included a "cost neutrality" clause whereby the city would not have to pay RedFlex the full rent if fine revenue was insufficient to cover the cost.
The City included "cost neutrality" in that contract despite have been warned not to do so: In Nov. 2003, the California Peace Officer's Association sent the City a letter pointing out the constraints imposed by CVC 21455.5(g) (as of 2013, VC 21455.5(h)(1)). (The letter from the CPOA was included in the council packet for the required public hearing, held on November 17, 2003. A typo in the last paragraph of the letter revealed that a similar letter may have been sent to the City of Whittier - and other cities.)
Following San Mateo's lead, many other cities adopted similar clauses. See Defect # 10 - B, on the Home page.

The following invoice, for the month of Aug. 2005, shows what may be a cost neutrality adjustment, a "Performance credit" in the amount of $2412.00. The timing of it would be consistent with the 12-month review provided in the contract.

Successful Appeals

In Sept. 2009 a defendant won his appeal on the cost neutrality issue. P. v. Bullock.

In Dec. 2009 another defendant won his appeal on a San Mateo ticket. P. v. Schmidt.

In Mar. 2010, another! P. v. Paul B.

2009: Sudden Contract Renewal Removes Cost Neutrality

On Nov. 16, 2009 the city council voted 5-0 to renew the contract with RedFlex for another six years (staff report & contract) despite the fact that the original (2004) contract was not due to expire until May 2010. It is likely that the renewal date was moved up because the then-recent P. v. Bullock appeal decision found the original contract's cost neutral clause to be illegal, and the City wished to remove the clause without delay.

The $17.9 million no-bid contract gave away a lot of money.

One example: Under its terms (Exhibit D at the back of the contract document) the City agreed to pay $6200 per month for up to 20 newly installed cameras, for up to 10 years. Had San Mateo negotiated the same rate as neighboring Burlingame ($5870), the City could have saved $792,000 over ten years, on the new cameras.

Another example: The City agreed to pay $4980 per month for the five existing cameras, for six more years.
At that price the City still will pay $712,800 too much over the six years (when compared with a $3000 target price). See FAQ # 17.

The contract contains an escape clause (Section 6.1) which allows the City to cancel the contract with ten days' notice and no penalty (once the cameras are more than 60 months old).

Concessions = Cost Neutral?

In 2014, a number of the invoices from RedFlex to the City showed 20% discounts entitled "Allowance for other concession." When asked, the City said that there was nothing in writing about how those concessions came to be.
Later, invoices from early 2015 showed that the discount was continuing, each month. But even with the discounts, the City was paying way too much. Consider this price schedule, from another city.

Elk Grove Calif. red light camera contract with
Redflex

Elk Grove Calif. red light camera contract with
Redflex

Table from Exh. D to the April 2014 contract between RedFlex and Elk Grove, California

2016: Contract Amendment, Extended to 2018

In Nov. 2015 the SMPD submitted a one-page report recommending a two-year extension of the program at a reduced rent of $3985 per camera. In response, the city council asked for more information to be brought back to them in 90 days.
In Feb. 2016 the SMPD asked for another 90 days.
On May 2, 2016 the SMPD asked for another 30 days.

The item came back to the council on May 16, 2016 and they approved it, 5 - 0. The contract amendment included adding enforcement to the two right turn lanes from eastbound Hillsdale onto Norfolk.
Staff Report
HighwayRobbery Letter
SaferStreetsLA Report

San Mateo's cameras were nine to ten years old by 2016, so the target rent, per the Elk Grove schedule (above) should have been $2000, or less. Over the two years of the 2016 - 2018 extension the City will pay $238,200 extra. To cover that extra rent the City will need to issue 2382 extra tickets (the City gets about $100 from each ticket issued).

2018: Contract Amendment, Extended to 2020

On May 7, 2018 the council voted 5 - 0 to extend the contract for another two years, to June 20, 2020, with an option for two more years to 2022. There was no discussion, at all. They did not obtain a lower price.
Staff Report
Draft Amendment
HighwayRobbery Letter

2019: Closed!

On July 15, 2019 the city council voted to have staff send RedFlex a notice terminating the program, effective within ten days, as permitted by the escape clause in Section 6.1 of the contract, and to refund many recent tickets.
Staff Report
TechDirt Article Archived Copy

City Docs Set # 4
Yellows Too Short? - BIG Dismissal in Late 2015, Another in 2019

On Oct. 6, 2005 I asked the City of San Mateo for copies of its signal timing charts, both current and former. On Nov. 25 they provided charts dated May 25 for the signal at Hillsdale and Saratoga, and dated Sept. 14 for Hillsdale and Norfolk. I wrote them back, again asking for the charts that were effective prior to those dates. On Dec.7 the deputy city attorney wrote back that "the signal timing charts previously provided were as far back as available." If that truly is the case, the City will have a hard time proving that its yellows were long enough.
Enforcement at Hillsdale and Saratoga started on May 19, so tickets between that date and May 25 could be challenged.
Enforcement at Hillsdale and Norfolk started about July 28, so tickets between that date and Sept. 14 could be challenged.

On Aug. 30, 2012 I received a Nov. 2011 memo which listed the length of the yellows. Those lengths have been entered at the bottom of the table in Set # 1, above.

Needed Dismissal in 2009?

The 2019 TechDirt article linked in Set # 3, above, says that in 2009 the Palo Alto Daily Post discovered and thoroughly documented a too-short yellow, then brought it to the attention of the City - which claimed the Post was wrong but never did any testing of its own.

BIG Dismissal in Late 2015

The City of San Mateo failed to lengthen its yellows prior to the Aug. 1, 2015 deadline to do so, and in Nov. 2015 announced they would be refunding or canceling nearly 1000 tickets issued Aug. 1 or later.
TV Article Archived Copy Newspaper Article Archived Copy

Big Dismissal in 2019

The July 2019 staff report and the 2019 TechDirt article, both linked in Set # 3 above, have details about a 2019 dismissal of 985 tickets.

Docs Set # 5: Countywide
Countywide Information, Including Grand Jury Report, How Much $$$ They Get

The info in Set # 5 is applicable throughout San Mateo County.

In Sept. 2009 a San Mateo defendant won his appeal on the cost-neutral contract issue (P. v. Bullock). In Dec. 2009 a Daly City appellant won on the same issue (P. v. Lopez). The two decisions could affect tickets in these San Mateo County cities which signed cost-neutral contracts:
Daly City, Menlo Park, Millbrae, and San Mateo.
It is reasonable to expect that some or all of these cities will amend their contracts to remove the cost-neutral language. San Mateo, and Millbrae already have (see Docs Set # 6, below, and the Millbrae section on the Camera Towns page).
Also in Dec. 2009 another San Mateo defendant (P. v. Schmidt) won his appeal, which was based upon missing warning signs and the control of the system by a private company.
Then, in June 2010, a Millbrae defendant (P. v. Durney) won his appeal, based upon hearsay/confrontation (Sixth Amendment) issues.
If you have a ticket from any of the cities listed above, please be sure to contact me!
And contact your local reporters - ask them to write about this, get the word out.

In Jan. 2015 a defendant wrote about handling a San Mateo County ticket via correspondence:
"Pleading guilty and asking for a reduced fine is fairly common when you attend court in person and they usually reduce it by around $100 [in San Mateo County]. Remote correspondence is also an option mentioned on the violation notice, but this option pertains to pleading not guilty. So in order to do both [pleading guilty and asking for the reduced fine, by mail], you need to send a letter (not email) to the traffic court asking if you can plead guilty with a reduced fine and attend traffic school. My fine was originally $490 plus $49 administrative fee for traffic school and it was reduced to $400 total (not including traffic school itself). I also used the San Mateo County website in order to extend my due date by one month to allow for enough time for the correspondence."

If you are going to fight your ticket, you do not want to do it before Comm. Kathleen M. McKenna in the San Mateo courthouse. I strongly recommend doing a Peremptory Challenge to remove her from your case. See the Challenges page of this website. I also recommend doing a Peremptory Challenge of her if you are doing a Trial by Declaration.

In one of two Nov. 13, 2009 red light camera articles by Joshua Melvin, the San Mateo County Times reported that the county court's CEO John Fitton had asked,
"Are we doing right by the public?"

Then, in a Feb. 16, 2010 KGO-TV segment by Vic Lee, Mr. Fitton stated:
"I would advise cities who are contemplating installing red light cameras to move cautiously. I know these systems generate revenue for cities, but safety-wise there are questions about whether the red light cameras reduce accidents."

"Based on the data provided by the cities, there was no overall trend indicating a noticeable change in accident rates before and after installation of red light cameras." "Recently, the City of San Carlos extended the yellow light time to comply with state standards and found that the number of citations fell dramatically." "As a result the revenue from red light citations could no longer cover the associated costs."

In June 2010 the San Mateo County Grand Jury released a report containing the quote above. The grand jury rules allow the cities to make formal comments about the report, but do not allow the public to do so.
Here is the final report (big file), including the initial report and the later comments by the cities.

If you would like to read some grand jury reports about the red light cameras in other cities, see the Grand Jury entry in the Site Index.

Court-provided reports show that red light camera ticket revenue flowing from the San Mateo County Court to the cities increased 39% in one year. (Some of the figures have been entered in the rightmost column of the large table in Set # 1, above.)

State Senator Jerry Hill: In 2017 Sen. Hill introduced SB 493 which, had it passed, would have reduced the fine for a rolling right violation.
Sen. Hill hosts frequent Java with Jerry events around his district, which includes the red light camera cities of Millbrae, San Mateo and Menlo Park. For information about attending a Java with Jerry event, see the info on the Millbrae Docs page, or phone his office at (650) 212-3313.