SAN DIEGO - An independent audit recommends that the City of San Diego's Red Light Photo Enforcement Program be maintained at the current 19 locations and be expanded to additional intersections. And it finds that "the City should be confident that all citations issued to date under the photo enforcement program have been properly issued."

The just completed report – a volume of more than 100 pages – recommends several changes before resuming the program, which was shut down in June so the audit could evaluate how the program was being operated. The review of the system was conducted by PB Farradyne, a Division of Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade & Douglas, Inc. PB Farradyne was hired in November and the audit was received by the Police Department last week. Chief David Bejarano called for the audit after department personnel discovered discrepancies in the internal settings of three of the red light photo enforcement intersections.

The report found that there was a reduction of 20-24% in red light violations at intersections where the cameras had been operational for six months. It also found "significant reductions in the number of collisions attributable to red light running at those intersections."

However, the overall accident rate at photo-enforced intersections increased by 3%, the result of more rear end collisions after the cameras were installed. The audit also found that the yellow light times were lower than the city standard at two intersections: West Harbor Drive and 32nd Street (4.5 seconds vs. 4.7 seconds) and at Black Mountain Road and Gemini (3.8 seconds vs. 4.2 seconds). In addition, the audit found that yellow light times at 10 of the 19 intersections, while meeting City standards, national guidelines and California law, are 1/10 of a second lower than those called for in the CalTrans traffic manual. As of January 1, 2002, a new law requires that all yellow light times at photo enforced intersections comply with the CalTrans traffic manual at a minimum.

1. Move the camera activation loops behind the limit lines. Currently, a mathematical calculation is done to determine how far the vehicle was behind the limit line when the light turned red. Moving the loops behind the limit line will negate the need for the mathematical calculation.
2. Add an additional camera that would photograph the violator behind the limit line while the light is red. The front view camera would photograph the violator in the intersection – an indisputable violation. Additionally, the rear view camera would capture the rear license plate, allowing identification of violators who remove their front license plates.
3. Add additional advanced warning signs to alert drivers that they are approaching a photo-enforced intersection.
4. Create a traffic safety partnership coordinating committee, consisting of representatives of the Police Department, Traffic Engineering, Public Works, traffic courts, the City Attorney's Office, selected community groups, and outside agencies (such as CalTrans and the Auto Club) that are concerned with traffic safety. The committee would review data on violations and citations issued, discuss trends and determine if any changes are needed.

A preliminary copy of the audit was received by the department last week, but PB Farradyne made some changes to the document; the revised report was received Jan. 23. Chief Bejarano said the department will be working with the city's traffic engineers to conduct a complete analysis of the audit. "I continue to believe that this is a viable program to enhance traffic safety in San Diego," said Bejarano. "The recommended modifications will further reduce injury accidents at the photo enforced intersections. We will present the findings to the City Council, which then will decide the future of the program."

The City began its Red Light Photo Enforcement Program on August 1, 1998, starting with three intersections and adding 16 more over the next 21 months. The original contract was with U.S. Public Technologies, Inc. Later in 1998, the Lockheed Martin Information Management Services (IMS) Division acquired U.S. Public Technologies and its contract. In October of 2001, IMS was acquired by Automated Computer Services (ACS).

Red light violations are photographed only after the traffic signal has changed to red. The violations are recorded on a 35 mm film cassette and on memory cards. The film is developed and then is transferred to high-resolution digital images for further processing and storage. Each of the recorded violations is reviewed by trained technicians to verify that a violation was recorded, that there is a clear view of the motorist's face, and that the license plate number can be clearly determined. For violations that meet these requirements, a citation is issued by a San Diego police officer.

Before the system was shut down for the audit, 83,931 citations were issued to motorists. This represents 43% of the actual violations that occurred at photo-enforced intersections (the remaining 57% of violations did not result in citations because they failed to meet all of the requirements mentioned above).

The entire report is available on the Police Department's Web page: www.sandiego.gov/police.