Red Light Camera Citation

What is a Red Light Camera Citation ticket?

CVC 21455.5 lets the limit line, the intersection, or a place designated in Section 21455 where a driver is required to stop be equipped with an automated traffic enforcement system if the governmental agency using it (1) identifies the system by signs posted within 200 feet of the intersection that clearly indicate the system's presence and are visible to traffic approaching from all directions in which the system is used to issue citations, and (2) locates the system at an intersection and ensures it meets the criteria in Section 21455.7. Before issuing citations, a local jurisdiction shall issue only warning notices for 30 days, and shall make a public announcement at least 30 days before enforcement begins. The agency shall, among other duties, ensure that the equipment is regularly inspected, certify that it is properly installed and calibrated and is operating properly, and maintain controls so that only citations reviewed and approved by law enforcement are delivered. The registered owner, or an individual the registered owner identifies as the driver, shall be permitted to review the photographic evidence of the alleged violation.

What the Law Says

(a) The limit line, the intersection, or a place designated in Section 21455, where a driver is required to stop, may be equipped with an automated traffic enforcement system if the governmental agency utilizing the system meets both of the following requirements: (1) Identifies the system by signs posted within 200 feet of an intersection where a system is operating that clearly indicate the system’s presence and are visible to traffic approaching from all directions in which the automated traffic enforcement system is being utilized to issue citations. A governmental agency utilizing this type of system does not need to post signs visible to traffic approaching the intersection from directions not subject to the automated traffic enforcement system. (2) Locates the system at an intersection and ensures that the system meets the criteria specified in Section 21455.7. (b) Before issuing citations under this section, a local jurisdiction utilizing an automated traffic enforcement system shall commence a program to issue only warning notices for 30 days. The local jurisdiction shall also make a public announcement of the automated traffic enforcement system at least 30 days before commencing the enforcement program. (c) Only a governmental agency, in cooperation with a law enforcement agency, may operate an automated traffic enforcement system. A governmental agency that operates an automated traffic enforcement system shall do both of the following: (1) Develop uniform guidelines for screening and issuing violations, including a violation for a prohibited right turn at a steady circular red signal, which shall take into account the relative risk to traffic and pedestrian safety posed by right turns on red compared to proceeding through the intersection against a red signal, and for the processing and storage of confidential information, and establish procedures to ensure compliance with those guidelines. (2) Perform administrative functions and day-to-day functions, including, but not limited to, all of the following: (A) Establishing guidelines for the selection of a location. Before installing an automated traffic enforcement system, the governmental agency shall make and adopt a finding of fact establishing that the system is needed at a specific location for reasons related to safety. (B) Ensuring that the equipment is regularly inspected. (C) Certifying that the equipment is properly installed and calibrated, and is operating properly. (D) Regularly inspecting and maintaining warning signs placed under paragraph (1) of subdivision (a). (E) Overseeing the establishment or change of signal phases and the timing thereof. (F) Maintaining controls necessary to ensure that only those citations that have been reviewed and approved by law enforcement are delivered to violators. (d) The activities listed in subdivision (c) that relate to the operation of the system may be contracted out by the governmental agency, if it maintains overall control and supervision of the system. However, the activities listed in paragraph (1) of, and subparagraphs (A), (D), (E), and (F) of paragraph (2) of, subdivision (c) shall not be contracted out to the manufacturer or supplier of the automated traffic enforcement system. (e) The printed representation of computer-generated information, video, or photographic images stored by an automated traffic enforcement system does not constitute an out-of-court hearsay statement by a declarant under Division 10 (commencing with Section 1200) of the Evidence Code. (f) (1) Notwithstanding Article 1 (commencing with Section 7922.500) and Article 2 (commencing with Section 7922.525) of Chapter 1 of Part 3 of Division 10 of Title 1 of the Government Code, or any other law, photographic records made by an automated traffic enforcement system shall be confidential, and shall be made available only to governmental agencies and law enforcement agencies and only for the purposes of this article. (2) Confidential information obtained from the Department of Motor Vehicles for the administration or enforcement of this article shall be held confidential, and shall not be used for any other purpose. (3) Except for court records described in Section 68152 of the Government Code, the confidential records and information described in paragraphs (1) and (2) may be retained for up to six months from the date the information was first obtained, or until final disposition of the citation, whichever date is later, after which time the information shall be destroyed in a manner that shall preserve the confidentiality of a person included in the record or information. (g) Notwithstanding subdivision (f), the registered owner or an individual identified by the registered owner as the driver of the vehicle at the time of the alleged violation shall be permitted to review the photographic evidence of the alleged violation. (h) (1) A contract between a governmental agency and a manufacturer or supplier of automated traffic enforcement equipment shall not include provision for the payment or compensation to the manufacturer or supplier based on the number of citations generated, or as a percentage of the revenue generated, as a result of the use of the equipment authorized under this section. (2) Paragraph (1) does not apply to a contract that was entered into by a governmental agency and a manufacturer or supplier of automated traffic enforcement equipment before January 1, 2004, unless that contract is renewed, extended, or amended on or after January 1, 2004. (3) A governmental agency that proposes to install or operate an automated traffic enforcement system shall not consider revenue generation, beyond recovering its actual costs of operating the system, as a factor when considering whether or not to install or operate a system within its local jurisdiction. (i) A manufacturer or supplier that operates an automated traffic enforcement system pursuant to this section shall, in cooperation with the governmental agency, submit an annual report to the Judicial Council that includes all of the following information if this information is in the possession of, or readily available to, the manufacturer or supplier: (1) The number of alleged violations captured by the systems they operate. (2) The number of citations issued by a law enforcement agency based on information collected from the automated traffic enforcement system. (3) For citations identified in paragraph (2), the number of violations that involved traveling straight through the intersection, turning right, and turning left. (4) The number and percentage of citations that are dismissed by the court. (5) The number of traffic collisions at each intersection that occurred before and after the installation of the automated traffic enforcement system. (j) This section does not affect a local jurisdiction that utilizes an automated traffic enforcement system pursuant to Section 21455.9. A local jurisdiction may utilize an automated traffic enforcement system pursuant to this section or Section 21455.9.

Arguments Commonly Raised for Red Light Camera Citation

General information: arguments drivers commonly raise for this code section. Whether any applies depends on your own facts.

Frequently Asked Questions About Red Light Camera Citation

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