California: Legislation Would Create Green Light Cameras

[The Straight Story]

California: Legislation Would Create Green Light Cameras
California lawmaker seeks to use cameras to ticket San Francisco drivers making prohibited right-hand turns on green.

Tom Ammiano photo by Steve Rhodes/FlickrRed light cameras in the state of California originally were first used to issue tickets to the owners of vehicles that entered an intersection after the light had turned red. In just the past few years, the cameras have shifted focus and now primarily ticket the owners of vehicles that make rolling right-hand turns on a red light. Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco) wants to further transform the system by introducing green light cameras. The new system, which initially would only operate at a single intersection in Ammiano's district, would target people who turn right while the light is green.

"The city and county of San Francisco may utilize an automated traffic enforcement system to enforce a violation of subdivision (d) of Section 22101, from Market Street onto the Central Freeway located at the intersection of Market Street and Octavia Boulevard," Assembly Bill 2729 states.

Ammiano introduced the bill at the request of bicycle activists who succeeded in prohibiting right-hand turns at the intersection in question, but existing law does not allow the use of automated machines to issue tickets to cars making turns while the light is green. Despite the push for introducing the new form of enforcement, there is no evidence that such the devices would have any positive impact on safety. No such camera has been used in the US. Some groups have suggested that there are more effective alternatives.

"The auto clubs have expressed a concern with the significant expansion of automated enforcement represented by this bill," the official legislative analysis of AB2729 explained. "They cite a history of abuse surrounding the use of automated enforcement and a growing objection by the public for this form of enforcement. Consequently, they suggest that engineering solutions be used on an expedited basis to remedy what they acknowledge to be a significant safety problem, rather than expanding the use of automated enforcement. There has traditionally been a high degree of discomfort among legislators as well as the public at large with automated traffic enforcement technology in general."

http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/31/3117.asp

Anyone have a picture of the shark that CA jumped?

[HopeHoops]

1. What am I missing here? Since when is it illegal to turn right on a green light?

:shrug:

Does this have anything to do with legalizing pot?

[mike_c]

2. it's always illegal at "No right turn" intersections...

...which I gather is the case here. Apparently enforcement is a problem because motorists routinely ignore the prohibition.

[Orsino]

7. Is this the same thing as turning the wrong way onto a one-way?

I'm not picturing it.

[mike_c]

8. could be-- it looks like this....

Seriously though, there are a couple of streets in my town with with "No Right Turn" signs at intersections, even though the streets themselves are two-way traffic streets. I guess the municipality just wants to control traffic patterns through those intersections for some reason or other.

[The Straight Story]

3. It's CA, almost everything is illegal (nt)

[Ikonoklast]

6. Gotta raise revenue somehow.

Remember, it's all about 'safety', never 'we really need the dough.'

[Ikonoklast]

5. Looks like turning right at this particular intersection is not allowed

yet still being done.

[liberal N proud]

4. I call the rolling right on red their God given right

Because that is what people think that it is, traffic or no, they are making that right on red.


The ones that really piss me off, are the ones pull up to a stop light as it changes, wait until they see you starting to pull through the green light then they dash out in front of you.

They are probably that same assholes who are squatting in the left lane on the freeway.

[krispos42]

9. So there are interesections in California...

...where you can't turn right onto a cross-street?


:banghead:

[mike_c]

10. of course-- aren't there everywhere?

Seriously-- you've never seen a "No right turn" sign? I think that's the problem this legislation is trying to address-- people tend to ignore them.

[krispos42]

11. Yeah... but only on one-way streets that go right-to-left.

Or marking the one-way exit of a parking lot or allyway.


I've seen plenty of "No Left Turn" signs, usually on minor streets or from parking lots that empty onto a major road with heavy traffic. Sometimes the major road has a median, so people don't accidently wind up getting trapped in traffic or going the wrong way down a road.

I've seen lots of "No turn on red" signs, too. But no "Never ever ever even think about turning right on green" signs.

[slackmaster]

13. Not many where you have to stop at a green light

I can't think of any in San Diego.

[Gormy Cuss]

12. For a more informative take on Ammiano's bill, read here:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/transportation/detail?entry_id=61739
This is a post on a transit blog at sfgate, not a news story. It shows the intersection in question.