Red light ticket runners are reaching epidemic levels.
Manteca Police Department — with cameras at just four intersections — issued 2,011 tickets in March.
It is double the previous monthly marks for such tickets.
It was a year ago this week that the first ticket, as opposed to simply a warning, was issued after the intersection at Daniels Street and Airport Way had redlight cameras operational during a 30-day state-mandated grace period.
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
