COSTA MESA POLICE DEPARTMENT

99 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa, California 92626

http://www.ci.costa-mesa.ca.us/cmpdpress.htm

PRESS RELEASE

Release Date: June 10th, 2004
Time:  5:00 PM

Subject:  Red Light Camera Enforcement at Northbound Newport Blvd. and 17th St.

SYNOPSIS:

The City of Costa Mesa has operated a red light camera program (photo enforcement) since June of 2003.  Currently, there are four intersections in the City of Costa Mesa that utilize this technology: 1) Harbor Blvd./ Adams Ave., 2) Bristol St./ Anton, 3) Newport Blvd./17th St., 4) Newport Blvd./19th St. The objective of the red light camera program is to reduce the number of traffic accidents caused by red light violators and other incidents caused by red light running.

On February 11th, 2004 the City of Costa Mesa became aware that the yellow light phase at the signal located at Northbound Newport Blvd at 17th Street, was shorter than required by State law based upon the posted speed limit.  The yellow light phase had erroneously been set at 3.6 seconds rather than a minimum of 4.3 seconds.  As soon as the City of Costa Mesa became aware of this error, the City immediately stopped issuing citations based upon recorded red light violations for that approach to the intersection.  The red light camera enforcement was operational at this intersection since October 3, 2003 until it was shut down for this one approach to the intersection on February 11, 2004.  There were 579 citations issued during this five month time period involving the shortened yellow phase at this particular approach.  Of this number, approximately 200 of these citations have already been paid, approximately 100 of them were dismissed, and the remainder are still pending.

The City of Costa Mesa will be contacting the Harbor Justice Center to request that the red light camera citations for this approach and time period that have resulted in convictions be reversed and that the unresolved citations be dismissed.  Additionally, the City of Costa Mesa will be providing refunds of the fines for the red light camera citations that have already been paid.

After the yellow phase was reset at this approach of the intersection, the red light camera enforcement resumed on March 18th, 2004.  The yellow phases for the traffic signals involving red light camera equipment at all other intersection approaches in the City of Costa Mesa have been set and operated properly since the inception of the program.

Lt. Tom Curtis  714-754-5191

Sgt. Dave Andersen  714-754-4963

THE REGION

Error Slams Traffic Tickets Into Reverse

Costa Mesa has to void hundreds of citations issued to red-light runners caught on camera because the yellow signal didn't last the required 4.3 seconds.

By Arlene Martinez, Times Staff Writer

June 12, 2004

Hundreds of drivers have a pleasant surprise coming in the mail from Costa Mesa: They can forget that old ticket they got for running a red light near Triangle Square.

That's because the yellow light for traffic headed north on Newport Boulevard at 17th Street was set to last seven-tenths of a second too short.

As a result, cameras designed to capture red-light violators illegally slapped citations on 579 motorists over five months, Costa Mesa police said in a statement.

For the 200 drivers who have already paid the fine, a refund will be issued, and their convictions will be overturned.

The remaining citations will be dismissed.

Drivers had only 3.6 seconds of yellow - rather than 4.3 seconds as required by law - before having their cars photographed. The amount of time a light must remain yellow is determined by the speed limit, which at that location is 45 mph.

Cameras were installed in October 2003, but the mistake was not discovered until February, police said.

Officials could not be reached to explain how the mistake was discovered and why it was not announced until June. [[I hope the Times reporter will eventually be allowed to question those officials about the 4-month delay.]]

The incident is at least the third in recent years in which Southern California police departments have had to refund or invalidate traffic violations caught on camera.

More than 2,000 tickets issued at a Culver City location [[ I  wish it was Culver City!  It was in East LA - see the East LA section on the highwayrobbery.net Camera Towns page.]]  were invalidated last year after officials realized the cameras started snapping while the light was yellow.

And in 2001, a judge in San Diego threw out nearly 300 citations after ruling there was a conflict of interest: The camera's operators were paid based on how many tickets were issued.

The Santa Ana Police Department, which installed cameras at 11 intersections a year ago, hopes to avoid such mistakes.

"We check our intersections twice a month, making sure the signs are up and that the system is operating [properly]," Sgt. Kevin Brown said.

Craig Steckler, the police chief in the Bay Area city of Fremont and past president of the California Police Chiefs Assn., said many cities have found the cameras effective.

In Fremont, officers check their 10 monitored intersections regularly to ensure yellow-phase times are in compliance with state law, Steckler said.

"We were put on notice after the San Diego case," he said. "It's inevitable mistakes will be made."  [[And Fremont still is making them - they forgot to put up enough warning signs, and they were too small.  See the Fremont section on the Camera Towns page.]]




[[On June 17 the Times published a short article.  The following is an excerpt from that article.]]

Motorist Discovered Traffic Light Was Too Short

By Arlene Martinez, Times Staff Writer

The mistake was discovered in February, but police did not announce it until last week while the city determined what action to take and investigate why the error occurred, said Sgt. Dave Andersen.

Andersen said a motorist who received one of the tickets discovered the too-short light.

June 14, 2004

Commissioner James Odriozola
Newport Harbor Justice Center
4601 Jamboree Road
Newport Beach, California 92660

Your Honor:

I edit a website about red light cameras, www.highwayrobbery.net.

On June 11, I received a press release (copy attached) indicating that the City of Costa Mesa erroneously issued 579 red light camera tickets, and will be coming before the Court with a request to refund or dismiss them.  

I have observed a previous example of a large-scale  refund (May 2003, East LA, 2700 cases) and saw that very few of those defendants filed claims, even though many qualified for compensation for their time spent in Community Service, and/or for refund of their costs of traffic school, increased insurance premiums, or wages lost.

I respectfully suggest that when the City comes before the court, you require the City to inform all defendants that they may be eligible to claim additional compensation, and further require the City to make it very easy and convenient for defendants to file such claims.   In my opinion, it should be made just as easy to file a claim as it is to pay a ticket (i.e., by phone or Internet).  I also suggest that there be a six-month review, at which time the City shall publicly report upon how many refunds and additional compensations it has delivered.

Sincerely,

OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK
City of Costa Mesa
Post Office Box 1200
Costa Mesa, CA 92628-1200
(714) 754-5223

CLAIM AGAINST THE CITY OF COSTA MESA

1.  NOTICE - CLAIMS MUST BE PRESENTED WITHIN 6 MONTHS FROM DATE OF LOSS - With Certain Exceptions - See California Government Code Sections 910 - 946.6.

2.  (Please complete both sides of this form.  Type or print using black ink only.  Return the completed form to the above address.)

3.  Please provide correct and complete information.  Insufficient or inaccurate information on this form may delay processing of your claim.

4.  Claimant's Name, Address, and Telephone Number:

5.  Address to which person presenting the claim desires notices to be sent: Same as above.

6.  On which date did the incident occur that gave rise to this claim?

7.  What time of day did the incident occur?

8.  Was a police report taken?  No

9.  Describe the incident that gave rise to this claim.  Red light camera ticket number ________________ mistakenly issued at intersection having 3.6 second yellow instead of 4.3 seconds as required by Vehicle Code 21455.7.  See the Costa Mesa police department press release of 6-10-04.

10.  Was there anything at the location that caused the incident to occur?   Yes [x]     No [  ]

11.  If yes, describe the condition that caused the incident to occur:  See the police department press release of 6-10-04.

12.  State location in detail where the incident occurred.  Attach a diagram if it applies to this situation.  Attach photographs if available.  Newport Blvd. at 17th, driving northbound.

(over)

13.  Was there any witness to this incident other than yourself?   Yes [  ]   No [  ]  Not applicable.

14.  If yes, give the names and addresses of all witnesses to the extent that information is available to you:

15.  Did you suffer any bodily injury?   Yes [  ]   No [x]

16.  If yes, describe your injuries (Attach medical bills.)

17.  Was any property of yours damaged or destroyed?   Yes [  ]    No [x]  

18.  If yes, describe the property and the damage (Attach repair estimates.)

19.  Have you lost any wages or income as a result of the incident?    Yes [  ]    No [  ]

20.  If you are claiming loss of income, state the Name, Address and Phone Number of your Employer or Business:

21.  Describe any other injury, loss or damage that you have incurred as a result of this incident.

Fine paid in cash:  $326, or -

Value of time spent in Community Service:  $326.

Community Service fee paid to court:   None

Community Service fee paid to C.S. agency for service in OC:  $60, or -

Community Service fees paid to C.S. agencies for service elsewhere:  $24 paid to OC agency to process transfer to out-of-county agency, plus fee charged by the out-of-county agency.

Car mileage to and from Community Service, _____ miles at $0.36 or $0.375 per mile =______

Finance fee for time-payment plan on fine:  $35.

Car mileage to and from court appearance(s), _____ miles at $0.36 or $0.375 per mile =______

Traffic school fee paid to court:  $52 (if OC resident), otherwise $24.

Traffic school fee paid to traffic school operator:  None (if OC resident), otherwise approx. $40.

Value of time spent in traffic school:  $54 (8 hours at legal minimum wage).

Increased insurance premiums, if not recoverable from insurer:

22.  State the name or names of public employee(s) causing the injury, demand or loss, if known:  The officer who signed the ticket.

23.  State the amount claimed as of the date of presentation of claim, including the estimated amount of any prospective or future injury, damage, or loss, insofar as it may be known at the time of the presentation of the claim, together with the basis of computation of the amount claimed:  $_______.  Basis is total from Lines 19 and 21, above.

24.  This claim must be signed by the claimant or by some person on his or her behalf.  Claims against local public entities for supplies, materials, equipment or services need not be signed by the claimant if presented on an invoice regularly used in the conduct of the business of the claimant.

25.  Date Signed: __________________________

26.  Signature of Claimant  __________________________________

highwayrobbery.net Newport/17th Claim, Ver. 3

INSTRUCTIONS

(Written by highwayrobbery.net)

To Use the Claim Form Above -

1.  Highlight the text of the form, above.
2.  Copy it into a blank word processor document [control-C, open Word program, control-V].
3.  If the resulting word processor document has a lot of short broken-up lines of text, try the following settings:
        (a)  display at "full screen,"
        (b)  use a compact font such as Times New Roman, 12 points or less,
        (c)  left and right margins set at 1.0" [file, page setup] .
4.  Add your information to the form, and remove any that does not apply to your claim.
5.  Print two copies, sign and date one and mail it per the Line 2 instructions, below.

Line-by-Line Instructions

Line 1:  The six months should run from the time that the police department or the court notified you of your reversal or dismissal  - so you should have at least until December 10, 2004, probably a week or two longer.

Line 2:  Send the claim to the City Clerk by Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested.  The claim form you send to the City Clerk should bear your original signature, not a photocopy of it.

Lines 6, 7 and 9:  Be sure to enter your citation number in the blank space on Line 9.  If you can't find your ticket, you can get this information by calling the court, at (949) 476-4749, or possibly the Costa Mesa police, at (714) 754-5263.

Lines 19 and 20:  Ask for any wages you lost while attending court or traffic school.

Line 21:  Not all of the expenses listed will apply to your claim, so cross out, delete, or change those that don't.  Attach copies of receipts, checks, or credit card statement (cross out last 4 digits of card number on statement), to prove these expenses.  The figures for mileage are per the IRS, $0.36 per mile in 2003, and $0.375 in 2004.  If you experienced increased insurance premiums and your insurer will not refund the increase, you will need to provide documentation of that in your claim to the City.

****

COSTA MESA POLICE DEPARTMENT

PRESS RELEASE

Release Date: June 18th, 2004

INFORMATION UPDATE RELATED TO REDLIGHT CAMERA ENFORCEMENT RELEASE

Effective June 18, 2004 at approximately 5 p.m., citizens who received citations at the intersection of northbound Newport Blvd. at East 17th St. between October 3, 2003 and February 11, 2004 can call a dedicated hotline number to receive information regarding actions being taken with regard to citations issued at this intersection.  The hotline has information on refund of fees paid to the Court (Fines and Traffic School Fees) as well as Department of Motor Vehicle actions being taken.  Those who received red light camera citations for a red light violation at the specific location and during the specific time period will be receiving a letter from the City of Costa Mesa within approximately 14 days and a refund check from the County of Orange shortly thereafter.  Notification to the Department of Motor Vehicles will be made regarding dismissal of the citation or a reversal of the conviction.  If traffic school was attended, eligibility to attend traffic school will be reinstated.  The City will be posting additional information on the City website by approximately June 23, 2004.

The Hotline phone number is 714-754-4995.

Web site editor's observations from visit on July 29 -

On July 29, the date I visited, the cases (about 12) were scheduled for H-14, Comm. Sheedy's courtroom.  Ten defendants showed up.  As soon as the courtroom opened, the bailiff told one defendant that her "It's not me" ticket was dismissed and that she could go home.  At 1:45,  the nine remaining red light camera defendants were told to go to H-6, Comm. Odriozola's court.

The nine camera defendants were the only defendants present in H-6.   Before court came in to session, a Costa Mesa police officer showed the videos to anyone who wanted to see them.

At about 2:05 Comm. Odriozola came in and announced four names, and said that those cases were dismissed.  I followed those defendants out of the courtroom and talked to them.  All of their tickets were on Newport Blvd., mostly at 17th, and all of the "face" photos were quite blurry. Their late times were 0.24, 0.98, and 1.18.

I returned to the courtroom about five minutes later.  The officer was concluding his foundational testimony (which would apply to all  camera tickets).

I was able to stay only for four of the five remaining cases.  One of the four was continued, to allow the driver to bring in proof that his brakes had failed when he tried to stop at the camera intersection, and that he had them repaired immediately thereafter.  The remaining three defendants argued their cases and were found guilty.  All of the three were offered the opportunity to attend traffic school, including "second offender" school to two of them.

I left at 3:15, midway through the fifth case.  I estimate that the session ended by 3:20.

The July 29 "tried" tickets were at the following intersections:
Newport / 19th, 3 northbound;
Bristol / Anton, 1 southbound;
Harbor / Adams, 1 northbound.
The Late Times were not announced in open court.