Circular Justification on Red Light Camera Ticket Camera Program in Stockton

We just stumbled on this published study completed on October 12, 2007 by the Stockton City Council. We just could not believe our eyes when we studied the justifications in this report. We would welcome your comments on this or other ‘justifications’ for red light camera ticket programs.

AUDIT SUMMARY – PERFORMANCE AUDIT: RED LIGHT CAMERA PROGRAM
According to the National Safety Council (NSC) in 2007, “motor-vehicle accidents continue
to be the leading cause of injury-related death in the country” and have a significant impact on the nation’s economy.1 In 2005, the City had 24 fatalities as a result of motor-vehicle collisions. In applying NSC’s calculable cost per fatality, we estimated an economic impact of $27.6 million. Red light cameras are an effective countermeasure to prevent red light running and subsequent accidents.

We have completed our performance audit of the City’s Red Light Camera Program in accordance with our 2006-2007 audit plan. The objectives of our audit were to determine if the program is
• meeting the City’s objectives (General),
• complying with the legal requirements for operating in California (Compliance),
• reducing the number and severity of accidents (Safety), and
• generating revenue or operating at a deficit (Financial).
Below is a summary of our observations and conclusions with a reference to pages in our Audit Report where additional information as well as management’s action plans and target dates for corrective are presented.
GENERAL
The City should expand the use of red light cameras. We determined red light cameras have reduced the number of red light violation accidents, the number of injuries, and the severity of injuries.
Finding: Program needs performance measures and periodic monitoring. While the Police Department performed a detailed pre and post analysis of collisions and red light violation data, results have not been compared to the program’s goals and objectives to measure performance.
1 National Safety Council, News Release, June 7, 2007 (accessed September 6, 2007); available from http://www.nsc.org/news/injury_data.htm.
PERFORMANCE AUDIT: RED LIGHT CAMERA PROGRAM
October 12, 2007
COMPLIANCE
City’s Red Light Camera Program complies with the legal requirements for operating in California. We determined the City’s Red Light Camera Program meets the
requirements detailed in the California Vehicle Code (see page 9) and complies with the yellow light timing standards established by the State of California Department of Transportation (see page 14). Additionally, the City does employ various elements to appropriately retain control of the program.
Finding: Encroachment permits were not verified for all locations where red light camera systems have been installed. Staff could not provide permits for 4 of 13
locations.
SAFETY
Red light cameras have reduced the number of accidents and injuries as well as the seriousness of injuries. Red light violation collisions decreased 9 percent since implementation in fiscal year 2004. The number of injuries and their severity decreased one year after implementation.
FINANCIAL
City’s Red Light Camera Program is generating revenue. The program generated net revenue of $183,078 for fiscal year 2007 based on estimated collections of $842,657 and payments of $659,579 to Redflex. The revenue generated is an estimate as detail data is not available from the San Joaquin County Superior Court. We wish to thank the Police and Public Works’ Departments for their cooperation in completing this audit.