Using cameras to police right turns offers a "tremendous opportunity for revenue" because the violation is common, he said. But he added that the turns involve relatively little accident risk.
"That's why people are doing it," he said. Downey turned down a red light camera proposal because of uncertainty about the effects on traffic safety and revenue, records show.
Motorists often are confused and complain about right-turn photo tickets, police say. John Jasso, a Pasadena technology manager, said he didn't fully get the complete-stop rule until two right-turn photo tickets came in the mail a week apart.
One was before sunrise on a Saturday morning. The streets were largely deserted, he recalled, as he braked and rounded a corner heading to the Montebello golf course.
The second ticket, before the first arrived in the mail, involved another early trip to a golf course, he said.
"I was like, 'They've got to be kidding me.' Especially at 6 in the morning," he said. The first ticket cost him $381; the second was dismissed because of a paperwork error, he said.
Jasso thinks focusing cameras on right turns is mostly about generating cash.
But he admits it changed how he approaches signalized corners.
"Now I stop every single time," he said. "No matter what time of day or night."
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rich.connell@latimes.com
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Measuring effectiveness
How effective are red light cameras in reducing collisions?
* In 2005, a federal study of seven jurisdictions across the country found a 25% reduction in broadside crashes and a 15% increase in rear-end collisions related to drivers making sudden stops. Partly because broadsides are more serious, the Federal Highway Administration concluded that cameras can be effective when they are carefully placed and when driver reaction is monitored.
* A city of Los Angeles analysis in 2006 found a 10% to 15% reduction in red light-running accidents.
* Santa Clarita reported a roughly 64% drop in red light-running accidents, from an average of 1.7 to 0.61 per intersection per year. Rear-end accident data were unavailable, but traffic officials believe that collisions have not increased much.
* Cerritos reported that red light-running crashes decreased between 41% and 52%. Rear-end crashes rose between 24% and 45%.
Source: Federal Highway Administration and Times reporting by Rich Connell
Los Angeles Times
