I saw this today on another forum:

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 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.

In 2000, the California legislature banned photo radar with a statute clarifying that although it authorized the use of photo ticketing at traffic signals, the legislature, "does not authorize the use of photo radar for speed enforcement purposes by any jurisdiction." (CVC 21455.6) Another provision specifies that, "A contract between a governmental agency and a manufacturer or supplier of automated enforcement equipment may not include provision for the payment

 

No problem if we just stop and not just slow down at stop signs. I learned this lesson at traffic school many years ago.

 

I'm actually surprised that it took this long for this to come about..

Donna

 

No problem at all. Stop at stop signs. Not a Cali-fake stop, a real stop. When clear, proceed to canyon carve until our hearts are content.

Check! I can live with those rules...literally!

 

It is the "speed cameras" mentioned in the article that I am worried about especially if they are mobile and can be moved around randomly by the "little-known agency". Also, expect heavy enforcement of front license plate display since the cams rely upon the front plate for identification. A few weeks ago a friend was waived over by law enforcement near the Rock Store for plate violation. They were nailing every car that went by for this.

 

Since California law currently prohibits speed cameras we will see how that plan comes to fruition. As well as the law about not allowing the manufacturer to receive any compensation. The reason for that was that the manufacturers were messing with the light timings to create additional revenue for themselves. However stop light cameras or even stop sign cameras don't really scare me too much. As I am all for making a complete stop.

 

How is this bad news

Making you actually stop is bad

this is SAD

Next thing they will expect you to follow the speed limit. Whats the world coming to?

 

More here:

http://cbs2.com/video/?id=43296@kcbs.dayport.com

 

The bad news is that the state legislature passed a bill specifically stating that companies cannot be paid based on the number of tickets their systems produce, and the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA) is installing exactly such a system.

Beyond that, I have to ask: How often does rolling through a stop sign result in any harm to a citizen of California, especially on lightly traveled canyon roads? I'd have to guess "almost never."

I have to believe these cameras are not being installed with public safety in mind, but with revenue-generation in mind. That is why companies are not allowed to profit from the tickets generated in the state of California. Someone convinced the MRCA that law doesn't apply to them, and therefore they should take advantage of the situation to make some money.

 

Absofreakinglutely.

 

someone will use this as target practice one late night.

 

Agreed, and who is to say that it will produce objective results when it comes to location/timing of stops? Of course with a system that makes it impossible to fight charges along with financial incentives to the parties running it corruption and bias seems inevitable.

If they really cared about public safety we'd be seeing cameras aimed at intersections to capture the action and be able to enforce infractions that result in accidents not to mention actual enforement of safety related violations (ie I have yet to see a car/truck missing bumpers or lights, etc or dangerous busses or commercial vehicles breaking the law pulled over even with police all about).

 

but since it will be in the hills. I don't know that anyone will wait until nightime....

It's not that bad, per se, that they're going after rolling stops. The question of whether it's a good investment of enforcement dollars seems to depend on if you care about the department budget or overall impact on societal health! That said, I live in hills frequented by "enthusiast" drivers, and I like the "understanding" that's in force here. The cops hammer the hills as the start of each driving season, heavy 3 day weekends, and whenever the enthusiasts get out of hand (read too many life flight trips to scrap up motorcycle drivers). Other than that, they stay away and let us play! Automation of enforcement could ruin this all.

We'll see where this leads.

Matt

 

thats great! if you roll threw the stop sign you deserve a ticket!

They need to install those cameras in Irvine around my office, people dont stop and go, even if they weren’t the first ones at the sign, I developed bad road rage at the idiots that do that to me...

 

This is just the beginning there will be an erosion with cameras everywhere for everything, Big Brother with cameras watching everyone.

This has nothing to do with safety it's all about revenue. I say put them up in town and make all the photos a public court record. In our town every cop will loose their license within a week due to three violations in a year!

 

I remember reading a study that the red light camera actually increases the number of rear end collisions at the traffic light. The reason is people will make more sudden stops earlier than other intersections and the car behind wanting to go thru the light cannot stop fast enough.

A friend of mine got a red light ticket because she didn't stop long enough at the red light before turning right. The letter that comes with the ticket says you have to stop for 5 seconds or more before turning right. I have never stop for 5 seconds if there is no cross traffic. I am afraid that they might apply the same rule for the stop sign camera... 5 seconds. How many of you stop at a stop sign for 5 seconds?

 

F*** this.