STOPLIGHT CAMERAS A SUCCESS CAMERA SYSTEM NAILS 5,800 DRIVERS IN FIRST YEAR.

Byline: Judy O'Rourke Special to the Daily News

SANTA CLARITA - More than 5,800 drivers were cited for running red lights at five Santa Clarita intersections in the first year of the city's red-light camera program, according to the city's senior traffic engineer.

Each week, some 200 drivers are caught by the lens crossing limit lines after their light is red, Gus Pivetti said.

The surveillance systems are also credited with a 20 percent decline in injury crashes compared with the previous three-year annual average at those intersections, said Pivetti, noting that the system is intended to improve driving habits.

``We're very happy with the results we've been seeing,'' Pivetti said. ``If we look at the first four months compared to the last four months, about 40 percent less citations were issued in the last four months.''

The 5,812 citations issued from Aug. 7, 2004, to July 31 averaged out to three violations a day at each of the five wired intersections. The intersections under camera surveillance are Lyons Avenue and Orchard Village Road/Valley Street, Soledad Canyon Road and Whites Canyon Road, Newhall Ranch Road and McBean Parkway, McBean and Magic Mountain Parkway, and Bouquet Canyon Road and Seco Canyon Road.

Cameras are activated when motorists run red lights, shooting images of the front of the car, the back of the car showing the license plate and a close-up of the driver's face to accompany the citation.

``Nobody has beaten the ticket (by disputing they ran the light) in open court,'' sheriff's Detective Anthony Arnold said.

The system might seem foolproof, but that does not stop people from trying to disprove that they were there. About nine people stop by the Sheriff's Department each week to view a real-time video loop that captures the decisive moment, said Sgt. Richard Cohen.

``Every week about two to three people fight it,'' Cohen said. He attributes the small showing to the photo evidence.

In a few cases, mailed citations have been delayed as sheriff's personnel try to reconcile case discrepancies, such as when the registered owner is not the one whose mug is captured.

A notice to appear must be mailed within 15 days of the supposed offense, Arnold said. He said a judge dismissed one case because the time period had been exceeded by several days. Trial court administrator Michelle Cramton said the 15-day requirement does not automatically ensure a dismissal, and that judges can use their discretion.

Cameras were installed in July 2004, but only warnings were issued the first month. Installations were staggered, but 586 drivers ran red lights during the grace period.

About nine crashes a year resulted from people running lights at the handful of locations before the program. Only one such crash occurred the past year, Pivetti said.

Like their Santa Clarita counterparts, officials in several Orange County communities say the program is improving safety.

``In my city, every single covered approach has had a reduction in accidents in red-light (running) and rear-end collisions,'' said Sgt. Rich Allen of Costa Mesa's traffic safety bureau. Costa Mesa has had the cameras since June 2003 and has four intersections wired. Last month, 1,100 citations were issued, but the average is 800 to 900 a month.

Santa Clarita's share of the fines collected was $601,000 in the program's first year, but Pivetti said the city just about broke even after factoring in at least $543,000 in costs.

The city paid about $517,000 to Arizona-based Redflex Traffic Systems Inc., the company that operates the system, and about $6,900 to communication companies whose Internet link transmits the data to Redflex. An additional $19,000 was spent on computer equipment for the Sheriff's Department and on modifying traffic equipment.

Twenty local intersections eventually could be wired. Pivetti said traffic engineers would talk with the sheriff's deputies about which intersections generate the most citations and where collisions are more frequent because drivers fail to heed the red.

Surveillance cameras that do not record car or driver information could be deployed around town to monitor traffic patterns, Pivetti said. Pivetti audited Redflex in August and said he was satisfied with the results. Since January, the violation costs drivers $351. About $147 is paid to the city and Redflex gets $89 per citation issued. Redflex operates the cameras and processes the paperwork, but local sheriff's deputies eyeball each case and decide whether a citation is warranted.

After deputies verify that the law has been broken, they advise Redflex to issue the citation within the 15 days. The labor-intensive process consumes more than 10 hours a week, between approving citations and testifying in court, Cohen said.

The department is in the process of hiring a civilian to review the citations and to testify in court, which is permitted under the law.

Judy O'Rourke, [phone]

judy.orourke(at)dailynews.com