Manteca Police are on pace to issue 16,000 plus red light citations by the end of the year.

And that are only the red light runners caught by cameras at five of Manteca’s intersections with traffic signals.

The potential to eclipse 16,000 tickets is based on 7,310 citations issued through May 28 or the first 141 days of 2026.

Manteca is about to surpass 90 intersections with traffic signals between those controlled by the city as well as Caltrans.

The department issued 1,362 red light citations during the first 28 days of May.

Police as of Monday had not reviewed videos of other potential violations from the last three days of the month.

The monthly record of 2,011 tickets was set in March of this year.

The red light cameras are at Airport and Daniels, Union and Yosemite, Commerce/Northwoods and Yosemite, Main and Louise, and Main and Northgate.

Tickets in Manteca still cost $490 with driving record consequences that in turn can lead to higher insurance premiums.

Municipal staff is looking at the possibility of “opting in” to a new state law that would not treat red light running monitored by camera technology as a moving violation and cap the fine at $100.

And because it is not a moving violation, it would not become a point on a motorist’s DMV record that could lead to higher insurance premiums.

The city is trying to determine if any unpaid tickets can be essentially a “lien” against vehicle registration that drivers must pay before a renewal is issued.

The opt-in program would allow the city to process tickets in-house as they are treated much like a parking ticket by the state. They would need to put in place an administrative reviews system if a ticket is challenge.

Currently, the red light tickets as a moving violation go through the court system.

The city only receives a portion of the $490. Their share comes to roughly $100, or the same as if it was treated like a parking ticket and handled in-house.

As such, the revenue stream is unlikely to change what American Traffic Systems receives for installing and maintaining the system as well as forwarding video and other data to Manteca Police in instances where a violation may have occurred.

A police officer reviewing the data determines if it meets the threshold of a violation.

The city, under state law, can’t be out any money if enough revenue isn’t generated to meet the contracted cost. ATS, in such a case, writes off the balance.

The city also wants to make sure switching to the opt-in, if that is what the City Council ultimately decides to do, doesn’t violate the contract with ATS and open Manteca to potential litigation.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com