California: Stop Sign Cameras Installed on Canyon Roads

[The Straight Story]

California: Stop Sign Cameras Installed on Canyon Roads
A California park agency will ticket motorists with stop sign cameras July 9. Speed cameras to follow.

Redflex cameraThe Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA) has installed the first-ever automated camera in the US designed to ticket drivers who make "boulevard stops" or slow to a crawl at a stop sign without fully ceasing forward motion. The little-known agency will begin issuing $100 fines next Monday, July 9, at Franklin Canyon in the heart of Los Angeles, located off of Mulholland Drive, and another at the top of Topanga.

The stop sign devices are based on red light camera platforms, but they differ greatly in use. The more familiar stoplight cameras typically photograph a vehicle entering an intersection if a signal light changes to red between 0.1 and 0.3 seconds after the car crosses a stop bar line (view recent report). With the new stop sign cameras, a machine will make calculations to determine whether a vehicle did not stop for a long enough period and deserves a fine.

The cameras are being installed as a prelude to the agency's expected installation of speed cameras on popular canyon roads, as first reported by TheNewspaper in April. Australian camera vendor Redflex will operate every aspect of the program in return for a $20 cut from every ticket the company is able to issue (view contract). California law explicitly prohibits both speed cameras and per-ticket photo enforcement contract provisions, but the MRCA believes the law does not apply to them.

"Our Park Rangers are California peace officers and will always have traffic enforcement as part of their duty," MRCA Director of Public Affairs Dash Stolarz said in a June statement.

http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/18/1846.asp

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. It will be interesting to see

what happens the first time a person given a ticket takes it to court.

[youngdem]

2. When will Americans have enough of this shit and throw it in the Harbor?

I shudder when I think about how much worse it will get. Having been to London, I think we have MUCH further to go, sadly.

Why some people feel the need to create a police state, I will never understand.

[DesertKart]

3. It's just taxation camoflauged to look like it's for public safety.

[msongs]

4. the PRIMARY function of law enforcement is to generate $$$ for that state

crime etc is secondary to dragging in the cash.

the profiteers are paying off the city councils to get income generating contracts.

The quotes in this post clearly indicate that government and its contractors feel they are above the law.

What else can you expect in a city where the head of city government is a common adulterer?

Msongs
www.msongs.com/political-shirts.htm

[1monster]

5. What is a "long enough time?" There are some stop signs where one can see

if anything is coming from a hundred feet of the stop sign. One second? Two? Five? Ten?

Machines will now "decide" whether or not we deserve to be fined?

Sounds like a new revenue device rather than a law enforcement device.

[villager]

6. The Big Brother scam continues -- even though every ticket should be challenged

as a way to clog up the system, the court ultimately refuses to allow reductions in fines (I got one when the car ahead of me stopped, and I was stuck in the intersection long enough for the camera to start "functioning.")

The judge admitted to me that they couldn't afford to reduce tickets because of the maintenance contract with the provider -- in other words, a certain amount of "unjust revenue" is essentially required....

[The Straight Story]

10. If they really want to fix the problem, and help others:

Hire people to stand there and watch, like those people who signs for X business on the street corners.

[NV Whino]

7. Hellooo, Big Brother

Admittedly it's been a long time since I've driven Mulholland and Topanga, and I'm sure traffic has increased since then, but really....

[Kingshakabobo]

8. The MRCA is taking a cue from Darth Cheney......

In one breath:

""""California law explicitly prohibits both speed cameras and per-ticket photo enforcement contract provisions, but the MRCA believes the law does not apply to them."""""


In the next:

"""Our Park Rangers are California peace officers """"


:wtf:

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

9. Great...I can see how this will go...

Boss Hogg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In a typical episode of The Dukes of Hazzard, Boss hires others to complete ... and placing hidden stop signs or speed limit signs that mysteriously spring ...

[Richard Steele]

11. "...the MRCA believes the law does not apply to them".

We have way too many assholes in this country with that notion.

[Solo_in_MD]

12. Other places have pointed that the installations are in violation of CA laws

Not sure who is right. If they are not patrolled expect a high level of vandalism against them