Residents seeing red over traffic citations

Coordinator says tickets stand up

By GEORGE MOORE

Some folks who have been caught on film running red lights in Cupertino have been singing the blues. No one enjoys getting ticketed for breaking the rules of the road, but when one receives a $281 citation in the mail, it's even less fun.

Approximately a year ago, the city installed red light cameras at the De Anza and Stevens Creek and De Anza and Homestead intersections. Currently, the cameras only snap photos of red light violators who are making left turns at those intersections.

Eileen Durham has resided in Cupertino for the past 23 years and didn't know about the cameras until one flashed her in the face last August.

"I had already passed the crosswalk when the light turned yellow for a brief time," said Durham. "It then turned red and I saw a flash. I thought, why would I be flashed?"

She called the city to ask why and someone told her not to worry about it unless she got a ticket in the mail, which she eventually did. Durham, a pediatric nurse practitioner at Stanford Hospital said her efforts to try to obtain information about her red light violation were met with red tape. She said she went to traffic court to explain her situation and officer Karen Burgess, who was coordinator at the time, offered her traffic school before she entered the courtroom. Apparently, once you go to court, traffic school is no longer an option.

"I told her 'no,'" Durham said. "I did not run a red light, and I'm not going to settle for traffic school."

Durham said she came armed with a court document of a similar case in San Diego in which Judge Jan Goldsmith ruled in favor of the defendant. The court document states that Lockheed Martin's personnel improperly altered a number of the systems without informing the city of San Diego, and as a result, caused reasonable doubt as to whether the defendant had committed the crime. But the San Diego case did not set a precedent in the judge's mind, and Durham was found guilty, so she has asked for an appeal and is waiting for another court date to be set.

Durham said that Senator Steve Peace in Sacramento is working to have the cameras outlawed.

"The state has a constitutional and legal responsibility to protect the privacy of all Californians," Peace said on his website. "The transfer of these images to the hands of private firms for profit is alarming. These private firms now have access to our pictures and our DMV records, and they are being paid millions of dollars to do it."

Also in court that day was Elizabeth Grund, who was also willing to sacrifice traffic school and not having the ticket appear on her record for the opportunity to explain what happened.

"I felt that there were circumstances that should have been listened to," Grund said. "I was there for the principle of it and don't feel I deserved the ticket."

There are two lanes that turn left at the De Anza and Stevens Creek intersection. Grund said as she approached the light, a vehicle in the left lane moved over into her lane to swing a wide U-turn, almost causing an accident. She said she braked to avoid hitting the car, then proceeded through the intersection and was flashed by the camera.

"I feel if there had been on officer at the scene, the person who cut me off would have been ticketed," Grund said.

Grund felt like no consideration was given to her explanation and that the gray area she thinks appears in the law is really black and white--the camera doesn't lie.

"If this is the case, there's no sense in inviting people to go to court," Grund said. "It's a waste of time for everyone."

But Sgt. Kevin Jensen, who recently took over as traffic program coordinator, said if there was a circumstance in which someone was wrongfully given a citation, the proof would be shown on the proof.

Jensen explained that two pictures are taken of vehicles that run a red light. Two "limit loops" just below the surface of the road before the limit line--the crosswalk--determine the speed of the vehicle and coincide with the traffic signal. The first photo is taken if the traffic signal turns red before the vehicle crosses the limit line. Then as the vehicle is moving through the intersection a second close-up photo is taken that shows the license plate and driver. Both photos digitally display how long the light had been red and the photos are sent with the citations. If a vehicle has crossed the limit line before the traffic light turns red, it will not take a photo.

Jensen said he has met with the vendor, Affiliated Computer Services, formerly part of Lockheed Martin, and has been thoroughly educated as to how it works.

"I feel very comfortable with the system," Jensen said. "I don't want people to feel they're being cheated. The idea is to improve traffic safety in the area."

He said that the vendor makes a percentage on every ticket, but he is the one who determines whether a driver gets one or not.

"We reject many citations for a variety of reasons," said Jensen. "We don't want to give borderline violations."

Jensen said part of his job is to field questions and to explain what options people have, and drivers must be notified within 15 days of the violation. As far as revenue generated for the city, he said they only care about breaking even and covering operating costs with the goal being to lower the amount of traffic accidents and fatalities.

An attendant that works for the vendor collects the film almost on a daily basis and goes through a checklist to determine that everything is working correctly. Jensen said the best thing about the system is that it will shut itself off if it detects a problem, and it has to be manually reactivated by the attendant.

There are signs posted before the intersections letting drivers know that camera monitors are in use, but they are not that big and could possibly be missed while driving down the three-lane road. Jensen said when the cameras were first put into place, they were announced publicly through many mediums, and during the first 30 days of operation only warnings were sent to violators.

Jensen said the intersection of Wolfe Road and Stevens Creek Boulevard will soon be outfitted with cameras and will go online in the near future.

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