Opinion Caught red (light) handed July 14, 2016 Updated 10:02 a.m. By ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER EDITORIAL Los Alamitos, one of the last holdouts of red-light cameras in the county, has been gouging motorists with a mistimed yellow light shorter than state law allows. “Los Alamitos City Manager Bret Plumlee said [July 5] that about 1,000 tickets were issued at Katella and Bloomfield between Aug. 1, 2015, and June 16,” the Register reported. “He said the problem with the yellow light was a miscalculation by traffic engineers and that the problem has been fixed.” But the bigger miscalculation is in Los Alamitos keeping their red-light cameras at all. Evidence suggesting that such systems are a benefit to public safety is dubious at best. At worst, red-light cameras may actually increase the potential for traffic accidents as motorists attempt to avoid getting a ticket. If there is no benefit to public safety, that is enough of a cause for their removal. But if, contrary to proponents’ claims, their main purpose is the generation of revenue, even more so. “California hands out harsher penalties than most states for red-light violations – from $490 to $554 when traffic school fees are included – and considers the ticket to be a moving violation,” the Register noted. “In other states, a red-light fine can run from $75 to $100 and is deemed a citation tied to the car, similar to a parking ticket.” Red-light cameras are a poor traffic safety tool, and, we surmise, were installed largely for their revenue-generating potential – but even that has proven spotty in many places. Remove them. Copyright © 2016 The Orange County Register & Digital First Media Privacy Policy & Terms of Use | Copyright | Arbitration | Site Help | Site Map | Digital First Media