Postcard for the times.
SAN DIEGO, Sept. 4 – A judge dismissed nearly 300 tickets Tuesday issuedto drivers caught by cameras that record motorists running red lights,handing ammunition to opponents of such systems.
JUDGE RONALD STYN of San Diego County Superior Court said the camera evidence was inadmissible because a private corporation’s role in the operation of the system and its per-ticket collection of fees violatedstate law.
The ruling has no direct legal implications for similar red-light traffic systems in roughly 50 other cities in the nation. But lawyers for the motorists said other judges likely will take the ruling under consideration.
“It’s very limited, but his ruling will receive a lot of deference,” said Arthur Tait, one of three lawyers who represented the 292 driverswhose tickets were quashed Tuesday. “It’s the first time that a traffic courthas looked this closely at what is going on.”
The case originated when motorists banded together to fight the camera-issued tickets. The city is expected to appeal, but it has suspended use of the cameras pending a review prompted by complaints about the system’s accuracy.
The San Diego police department continues to support use of the cameras, which officials said have reduced red-light running an average of 45percent at the 19 intersections where they are installed. “I continue to believe that red light photo enforcement increases safety at intersections,” Police Chief David Bejarano said.
San Diego’s system, which snaps a photo of a red-light runner and mails a $271 citation to the registered owner of the vehicle, is thetarget of two civil lawsuits that could end the program and refund money to84,000 people who have received the tickets since 1998.
Affiliated Computer Services Inc. of Dallas has agreed to alter its system to comply with Styn’s ruling Tuesday, spokesman Mark Maddox said. Maddox said alternatives could include charging a flat rate to the city for installing the cameras.
