Red Light Camera Fisco
Some 45% of red-light camera tickets issued in Los Angeles are currently unpaid, partly because holds are not placed on driver’s licenses and vehicle registrations for unsettled photo enforcement infractions, city officials said Wednesday.
The disclosure came as City Controller Wendy Greuel issued an audit that found the photo enforcement program bypassed some of the city’s most dangerous intersections and costs the city more than $1 million a year to operate, despite fines and fees that can exceed $500 per infraction.
LAPD officials said they learned during the audit that the state Department of Motor Vehicles has not been forcing payment of delinquent red-light camera fines during license and registration renewals. Other types of citations typically must be paid before renewals are granted, said Chief Charlie Beck, who appeared with Greuel at a news conference beneath a downtown red-light camera.
A DMV spokesman said motorists issued photo citations do not sign promises to appear in court, which are standard with moving violations issued by traffic officers. It is a failure to appear or pay the fine after signing a ticket that typically triggers a hold on a driver’s license renewal, said agency spokesman Armando Botello. He also said Los Angeles County Superior Court had not forwarded hold requests to the DMV for red-light camera tickets.