A California appelate court and grand jury have both, independently, issued verdicts against San Mateo county for the way it operates its red-light cameras. The grand jury report found that while San Mateo county cities claimed they were motivated solely by safety considerations, the effectiveness of the cameras was judged by the cities solely on the basis of the ticket revenues they brought in (almost $14 million across San Mateo county last year). The city of San Carlos found that red light citations plunged, and the camera system started operating at a loss, once they increased the duration of amber traffic signals to bring them into compliance with mandated state standards. Meanwhile, the appelate court ruled that a red light ticket in Millbrae was unenforceable because “The appellant was denied the right to effectively cross examine anyone relating to the specifics of the system and/or its operational status”.
Red light cameras are going down in state after state. I have a feeling this oarticular extortion racket is one whose days are numbered.