Manteca is still analyzing the red light cameras impact on reducing accident rates but if success in other cities reflects what has happened on local streets it could be significant.
Data collected by Verra Mobility and the National Coalition for Safe Roads for National Stop on Red Week being observed through Aug. 9 show:
*Merced has experienced a 50 percent drop in fatal crashes.
*San Jose, after installing cameras late last year, has seen a 28 percent reduction in violations during the first 60 days of operation.
*Large cities surveyed with red light cameras nationally have seen intersection crash rates drop by 21 percent.
*Communities that have removed red light cameras experienced a 30 percent increase in traffic collisions.
*In 2023, red light runners in California caused 167 fatalities and nearly 1,000 serious injuries.
*Nationally from 2014 to 2024, annual deaths caused by red light runners went up 60 percent with 711 in 2014 and 1,119 in 2024.
Manteca installed red light cameras at five intersections in a bid to reduce accidents caused by red light runners.
Of the 1,000 plus accidents on city streets in 2024, more than 20 percent were at intersections.
The bulk of those occurred at the intersections where the red light cameras were placed.
Intersection crashes tend to produce the most serious injuries and highest insurance losses.
1,020 tickets in the
first 3 weeks of July
Manteca Police Lt. Ian Osborn said the department, as of Tuesday, has been able to get through verifying red light runners for the first 23 days of July
The number of red light tickets issued for July so far is 1,020.
That means July is likely to top June’s number of 1,162 tickets — the second highest month so far.
March of this year saw a record 2,011 red light tickets issued.
Manteca as of June 30 — at the midpoint for the year — has issued 8,805 red light running tickets using camera technology at just five of the more than 90 signalized intersections in the city..
Manteca last year issued 9,886 tickets. That means the city — when the July citations verified so far are included has issued 19,711 red light tickets.
The hot spot for red light tickets in terms of volume — the Daniels Street at Airport Way intersection — doesn’t even have cameras positioned to monitor every lane of the approaches.
There is not a red camera on the heavily used right turn lane from eastbound Daniels to northbound Airport.
Officers assigned to limited duty due to injuries typically received on the job, review videos before tickets are issued.
The officers reject video sent to them by the red light firm — American Traffic Systems — if it doesn’t clearly meet the legal threshold the state mandates must be met before a ticket is issued.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com
