Seconds count when it comes to making sure red light camera violations meet the California legal threshold to make a $490 ticket stick.

Those seconds between a yellow and red that trigger whether a driver should have stopped instead of crossing the line are based on various factors such as the city posted speed limit and whether it is a straight lane or left turn lane.

The length of the yellow signal is one of several questions several readers have poised regarding the City of Manteca’s red or camera program that started in April.

The cameras, that are now operational at six of Manteca’s nearly 100 intersections with traffic signals, have led to the Manteca Police Department issuing 5,108 red light violating citations as of the end of September.

While that is a six-month period, the end of the 30-day grace period when warnings instead of tickets were issued didn’t end for several intersections until the end of May.

At the same time construction has created extended periods at two intersections with red cameras on Main Street — at Louise Avenue and at Northgate Drive — where tickets weren’t issued due to traffic controls needed for road work.

The means Manteca after the first 12 months of the light cameras starting to go operational will likely issue in excess of 10,200 tickets.

The guidelines for yellow-to-red timing is based on state law.

Engineers then apply the guidelines to specific intersections and specific lanes.

Manteca Police Sgt. Ian Osborn offered several examples.

“Northbound Main Street at Northgate in (the) straight lanes are yellow for 3.6 seconds where the northbound Main Street at Northgate in the left turn lane is yellow for 4.4 seconds, Osborn said.

Osborn noted the signal timing has to pass state and court standards before a legal ticket can be issued.

There is also an ever so short delay characterized as a fraction of a second between the time a light goes red in one direction before a light goes green in another direction.

It is why Manteca red light ticket dismissals are “very rare.”

As for some readers concerned the city may be losing money some months to cover the red light cameras, that won’t happen.

The city’s contract with American Traffic Systems complies to a state mandate that cities that employ the technology can not lose money on the proposition.

As a result, ATS — if the city doesn’t collect enough in fines during billing periods to cover the monthly contract costs — dismisses the balance.

Over the course of 12 months, the ATS contract has a maximum cost to the city of $873,600.

The “break-even” point when the ATS contract is covered is around 7,800 tickets a year.  

Keep in mind, Manteca only receives roughly 20 percent of every $490 red light runner ticket.

The bulk goes to the court system and the State of California.

Manteca starts accumulating money to spend on the traffic unit after its share of ticket revenue has covered the $873,600 ATS contract.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com