{"id":477679,"date":"2010-03-26T14:48:05","date_gmt":"2010-03-26T18:48:05","guid":{"rendered":"tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c630a53ef0133ec3d5f29970b"},"modified":"2010-03-26T19:20:58","modified_gmt":"2010-03-26T23:20:58","slug":"red-light-cameras-prompt-revenue-questions-even-as-lapd-report-says-program-is-helping-curb-accidents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/477679","title":{"rendered":"Red-light cameras prompt revenue questions even as LAPD report says program is helping curb accidents"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><embed align=\"middle\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" bgcolor=\"#ffffff\" devicefont=\"false\" flashvars=\"&amp;titleAvailable=true&amp;layoutColumns=1&amp;carouselType=horz&amp;playerAvailable=true&amp;searchAvailable=false&amp;singleURL=http:\/\/latimes.vidcms.trb.com\/alfresco\/service\/edge\/content\/b188c7fa-ac77-4939-b345-78b5737287e6&amp;adZone=news&amp;adServ=trb.latimes&amp;propName=latimes.com&amp;hostURL=http:\/\/www.latimes.com&amp;swfPath=http:\/\/latimes.vid.trb.com\/player\/&amp;omAccount=tribglobal&amp;omnitureServer=latimes.com&amp;autoPlayVideo=false\" height=\"450\" loop=\"true\" menu=\"true\" name=\"PaperVideoTest\" play=\"true\" pluginspage=\"http:\/\/www.macromedia.com\/go\/getflashplayer\" quality=\"high\" salign=\"l\" scale=\"showall\" src=\"http:\/\/latimes.vid.trb.com\/player\/PaperVideoTest.swf\" type=\"application\/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"600\" wmode=\"opaque\"><\/embed><a class=\"akbalxejjbkfmvmmbssk\" href=\"http:\/\/latimes.vid.trb.com\/player\/PaperVideoTest.swf\" style=\"left: 583px ! important; top: 487.1px ! important;\" title=\"Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus\"><\/a> <\/p>\n<p> Los Angeles\u2019 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.latimes.com\/la-me-redlightcameranoaudio-11feb2009-fl,0,5605226.flash\" title=\"Interactive; How red light cameras work\">red-light cameras<\/a> are stirring new financial concerns at City Hall, just as a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.lapdpolicecom.lacity.org\/032310\/BPC_10-0122.pdf\">police study has concluded the program helps reduce accidents<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>With officials scouring expenditures to close a $200-million budget gap, updated estimates from the city\u2019s budget office are painting a sobering picture of the cash generated by the city\u2019s 32 camera-equipped intersections.<\/p>\n<p>The photo enforcement program, which catches tens of thousands of violators annually, appears to be generating about $3.8 million a year in traffic ticket revenue, said Senior Administrative Analyst Matt Crawford. That is millions less than some previous police department estimates, and roughly what the program costs, mostly for fees paid to a private contractor that supplies and operates the camera systems. <br \/><\/br><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/ad.doubleclick.net\/click;h=v8\/3969\/0\/0\/%2a\/h;44306;0-0;0;12926859;31-1\/1;0\/0\/0;u=http:\/\/www.latimes.com\/;%7Eokv=;ptype=sf;rg=ur;pos=T;dcopt=ist;sz=1x1;tile=1;u=http:\/\/www.latimes.com\/;%7Eaopt=2\/0\/ff\/1;%7Esscs=%3f\" ><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Click here to find  out more!\" border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/s0.2mdn.net\/viewad\/817-grey.gif\"><\/img><\/a><\/p>\n<p><script>if (navigator.platform == &quot;iPhone&quot; || navigator.platform == &quot;iPod&quot;) {\n document.write(&quot;&lt;div class=\\&quot;goto-iphone-version\\&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=\\&quot;http:\/\/mobile.latimes.com\\&quot;&gt;Click here to view latimes.com\/iPhone&lt;\/a&gt;&lt;\/div&gt;&quot;);\n }\n<\/script><\/p>\n<div class=\"module blurb\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"center_photo\"><a href=\"http:\/\/latimesblogs.latimes.com\/lanow\/2010\/03\/red-light-cameras-prompt-revenue-questions-even-as-lapd-report-says-program-is-helping-curb-accidents.html\" style=\"float: left;\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/www.latimes.com\/media\/alternatethumbnails\/photo\/2010-03\/52945860-26111956.jpg\" style=\"width: 329px; height: 185px; margin: 4px;\"><\/img><\/a><\/div>\n<p>Because some red-light ticket income is dedicated to other traffic safety programs, such as school crossing guards and roadside signs, the city\u2019s cash-strapped general fund has been paying an extra $1.6 million a year to keep the camera program going, Crawford said.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s a concern when the city is considering laying off up to 4,000 employees, said Councilman Dennis Zine, a member of the Public Safety Committee.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think we can afford to take any money out of the general fund\u201d for red-light cameras, Zine said. But he noted redirecting all camera-generated money to support the program would require cutting other services.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo one\u2019s going to stand up and say, \u2018We\u2019re getting rid of crossing guards,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>The city\u2019s red-light camera program, one of the largest in the nation, has drawn praise from supporters who say it helps efficiently police dangerous intersections, discourages red-light running and frees up patrol officers for other duties. Critics contend the safety benefits are mixed, at best, and the cameras mainly are revenue producing tools for private vendors and state and local governments.<\/p>\n<p>Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa\u2019s office is reviewing the costs and benefits of the program. \u201cWe\u2019re looking at our options,\u201d said David Beltran, the mayor\u2019s press secretary. \u201cI don\u2019t think we\u2019re looking at eliminating the program.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Recent Los Angeles Police Department estimates indicated the cameras produced several million dollars in net revenue in recent years. But those figures were based on the number of citations issued via cameras, multiplied by the city\u2019s potential share of penalties, officials say.<\/p>\n<p>Further analysis has shown the actual revenue the city collects is greatly reduced by, among other things, motorists failing to pay tickets quickly, fines being reduced by judges, and the growing numbers of drivers doing community service in lieu of paying ticket fees that can top $500.<\/p>\n<p>The downsized cash-flow estimates come at a time when the city is considering doubling the number of intersections covered by cameras and putting the program out to a new round of bidding by contractors. How the latest revenue and cost estimates may affect that effort is not yet clear.<\/p>\n<p>Zine, a former LAPD traffic cop, said the cameras cannot add to the city\u2019s budget woes. And, he said, officials need to carefully examine whether the systems are producing significant safety benefits.<\/p>\n<p>A new police department report argues that is the case. Serious injury accidents and potentially dangerous crashes involving red-light running declined at intersections where cameras were activated, the report says. And while five deaths were attributed to red-light violations at the intersections from 2004 through 2006, no such fatalities have been reported since the cameras were activated, the report says.<\/p>\n<p>Photo enforcement \u201cis basically doing what it\u2019s supposed to,\u201d said Lt. Ron Katona.<\/p>\n<p>However, the study\u2019s data presents a complex picture. Comparing the six months before as well as after camera-equipped intersections were activated, total accidents increased 5%. That figure is misleading, the report says, because many incidents were caused by pedestrians, occurred on private property or mid-block or were otherwise not relevant to the photo enforcement program.<\/p>\n<p>Accidents that were deemed to be red-light related dropped 9% across the studied intersections, the report says. Yet at more than a third of the crossings, those accidents increased. <br \/><\/br><\/p>\n<p>Studies elsewhere have found rear end collisions, which tend to be less serious than broadside collisions caused by red-light violations, increase with photo enforcement because drivers make panic stops to avoid getting tickets.<\/p>\n<p>In Los Angeles, red-light related rear end crashes remained flat at the intersections, the study found, although total rear end accidents rose about 40%.<\/p>\n<p>Zine said his committee would delve deeper into the accident data. But even using the LAPD\u2019s criteria, a 9% reduction in accidents is disappointing, he said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t seem that significant&#8230;you should be in the double digits\u201d of 20% to 40% accident reductions, he said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8212; Rich Connell<\/p>\n<p><em>Photo: Marc Martin \/ L.A. Times<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>More breaking news in L.A. 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Are you willing to pay more<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/latimesblogs.latimes.com\/lanow\/2010\/03\/hollywood-gang-spreading-heroin-in-glendale-la-crescenta-police-chief-says.html\" style=\"font-size: 14px;\">Hollywood gang spreading heroin in Glendale,<br \/>\nLa Crescenta, police chief says<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Los Angeles\u2019 red-light cameras are stirring new financial concerns at City Hall, just as a police study has concluded the program helps reduce accidents. With officials scouring expenditures to close a $200-million budget gap, updated estimates from the city\u2019s budget office are painting a sobering picture of the cash generated by the city\u2019s 32 camera-equipped [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4678,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-477679","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/477679","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4678"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=477679"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/477679\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=477679"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=477679"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=477679"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}