Two things are abundantly clear after Manteca Police have issued 27,524 and counting red light running tickets based on camera/radar evidence at five intersections in the past 17 months.
uThe supposed “right” the vast majority of drivers think they have not to come to a complete stop on a red light before making a right hand turn is a driving act beyond epidemic proportions.
uA $490 ticket for an “educational moment” is a tad overkill.
First, let’s be clear upfront about an urban legend, if you will.
No matter how much you want to believe it, the California Legislature isn’t crammed with those channeling Jackie Gleason aka Buford T. Justice by adopting laws that allow local jurisdictions to install red light cameras as a means to raise revenue.
Even with Manteca issuing 9,824 red light cameras tickets in eight months in 2025 at $490 a pop and assuming all tickets are paid, the city — after the state takes its hefty cut and the cost of the red light camera contract is covered, Manteca would be left with roughly $200,000.
That $200,000 or so under state law, can only be spent by city in efforts to improve traffic safety.
They could hire an additional traffic cop, but between salary and equipment it would require the entire amount.
Then there is the issue of an ongoing expense. One would hope 9,824 red light tickets wouldn’t be legally justified going forward to be issued annually at the five intersections equipped with cameras.
It is financially irresponsible to use the money from the red light cameras to fund another traffic officer from what should be an unreliable revenue source.
That means investing in ways that reflect the first “E” of the three “E”s of traffic safety engineering, education, and enforcement when it comes to having safer streets, is a passive 24/7 move.
Depending upon the situation, that is enough to add somewhere between 12 to 16 more speed lumps each year in Manteca between material and labor.
The red light cameras aren’t a way for the city to make money.
That said, Councilman Mike Morowit is correct. He was not elected to “work” for insurance companies that could use the point a red light ticket per se adds to the DMV driving record to justify a premium increase.
He also was not elected to work as a revenue agent for the State of California.
The financial big winner in the current Manteca approach is the state that will rake in more than $4 million if all of the 9,824 red light tickets issued in 2025 are paid.
This entire exercise is rooted in trying to make streets safer for everyone and that includes pedestrians that way too many drivers have lulled themselves into driving patterns that put them at risk.
Manteca issues tickets on right turns that are at a threshold that snags that drivers caught driving at 10 mph or more turning right on a red signal that has been described as a “harmless maneuver” because the occasion vehicle vs. pedestrian in such instances is minuscule compared to vehicle vs. vehicle contact of red light violators driving straight or turning left.
Of course they are. On the busier intersections on an average in Manteca, in excess of 20,000 vehicles pass through based on traffic counters. It is likely the number of pedestrians crossing such intersections rarely break 100.
The point? If most drivers aren’t vigilant making right turns on red lights which means looking for pedestrians in the crosswalk walking toward the route of travel they are taking but are blocked from view by vehicles in thru lanes from the left, there is a safety problem.
But what if there are no pedestrians there?
That is the problem.
Do something long enough, and it becomes repetitive driving behavior.
Wailing after you strike a pedestrian, regardless of the severity of what happens, that you didn’t see them means — unless you’re stoned out of your mind on drugs, alcohol, prescriptions or whatever — you weren’t paying attention.
Repetitive behavior breaking basic traffic laws is what leads to “accidents” which almost always aren’t accidents because someone wasn’t obeying laws, failed to keep vehicle components in working order such as brakes or weren’t paying attention.
Dismissing those waiting on the curb to turn green before crossing given they should wait until a driver decides to comply with the law and stop before turning so a pedestrian with a green can safely enter the crosswalk is intimidation.
After all, motorists are “easing” through the turn at 10 mph looking to the left so the 4,000 pounds or so they are driving doesn’t get hit while a 140 pound pedestrian is forced to yield is the pure definition of intimidation.
The cameras are about changing driving habits.
A $100 citation is a teachable moment.
And if you are a slow learner, over a three year period $200 for a third violation, $350 for a third violation, and $500 for each violation thereafter is a reasonable price for not paying attention.
