Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Red-light flash fright unnecessary

It only looks like they're taking photos in Oceanside

It has been one month since the City of Oceanside turned off their red-light cameras. Yet, the camera units at four Oceanside intersections still flash and take pictures, and the signs are still posted.

“The public still perceives them as operational, so it will be about four to six months before we may see any difference [running red lights],” said Oceanside police traffic Sgt. Rich Schickel. He explained it’s hard to enforce red-light runners from an officer’s standpoint. There aren’t many areas around busy intersections where officers can safely sit and watch for violators.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The main intersection the motorcycle officers might focus on may be southbound El Camino Real, turning onto westbound Vista Way. The large Discount Tire parking lot offers the officers a safe spot to sit and wait. Otherwise, in most areas of the city, Schickel indicated, red-light tickets would be given, as they’ve always been, when officers are moving with traffic and witness the violation.

Oceanside Police Dept. spokesperson Lt. Leonard Cosby said the city is leaving the cameras up for now, although violations have not been enforced since December 1. “We receive other information from them, like pictures of robbery suspects and stolen cars,” he said.

Oceanside has another tool in its speeding-enforcement arsenal — this one to slow down speeders. In 2014, their mobile data speed-limit signboard, showing the speed limit and the speeds of vehicles, had been posted around the city in 43 locations. Speeding motorists see their speed flashing and a series of bright flashes, coming from, one would think, a camera.

During the holidays, the unit was posted on the downhill side of Lake Drive. The four-lane road, southbound at the top of the summit, is posted at 50 miles per hour. As the road winds down through an older neighborhood, it is reduced to two lanes and posted at 30 miles per hour. The unit works: cars were seen slowing down rather quickly when the supposed camera started to flash. But, just like the red-light cameras that are no longer resulting in citations, the fake speed camera does not record anything other than overall speed data for traffic engineers.

Unlike other states, it is illegal in California for any agency to use photo speed enforcement cameras. Other cities have shut off their red-light cameras due to the program costing more than the cameras generated in fines. Carlsbad, Del Mar, Encinitas, San Marcos, Solana Beach, and Vista still use red-light cameras. The total cost in fines, court fees, and traffic school is around $600. Due to budget constraints, traffic commissioners have been advised by their presiding judges not to lower red-light fines for violators who show up in court.

In 2001, California adopted Vehicle Code Section 21455.6, which outlaws the use of photo speed enforcement. Arizona has shut off their freeway speed cameras, usually found in rural areas, after shots were fired into mobile roadside equipment around the state.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

San Diego Dim Sum Tour, Warwick’s Holiday Open House

Events November 24-November 27, 2024
Next Article

Trophy truck crushes four at Baja 1000

"Two other racers on quads died too,"

It has been one month since the City of Oceanside turned off their red-light cameras. Yet, the camera units at four Oceanside intersections still flash and take pictures, and the signs are still posted.

“The public still perceives them as operational, so it will be about four to six months before we may see any difference [running red lights],” said Oceanside police traffic Sgt. Rich Schickel. He explained it’s hard to enforce red-light runners from an officer’s standpoint. There aren’t many areas around busy intersections where officers can safely sit and watch for violators.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The main intersection the motorcycle officers might focus on may be southbound El Camino Real, turning onto westbound Vista Way. The large Discount Tire parking lot offers the officers a safe spot to sit and wait. Otherwise, in most areas of the city, Schickel indicated, red-light tickets would be given, as they’ve always been, when officers are moving with traffic and witness the violation.

Oceanside Police Dept. spokesperson Lt. Leonard Cosby said the city is leaving the cameras up for now, although violations have not been enforced since December 1. “We receive other information from them, like pictures of robbery suspects and stolen cars,” he said.

Oceanside has another tool in its speeding-enforcement arsenal — this one to slow down speeders. In 2014, their mobile data speed-limit signboard, showing the speed limit and the speeds of vehicles, had been posted around the city in 43 locations. Speeding motorists see their speed flashing and a series of bright flashes, coming from, one would think, a camera.

During the holidays, the unit was posted on the downhill side of Lake Drive. The four-lane road, southbound at the top of the summit, is posted at 50 miles per hour. As the road winds down through an older neighborhood, it is reduced to two lanes and posted at 30 miles per hour. The unit works: cars were seen slowing down rather quickly when the supposed camera started to flash. But, just like the red-light cameras that are no longer resulting in citations, the fake speed camera does not record anything other than overall speed data for traffic engineers.

Unlike other states, it is illegal in California for any agency to use photo speed enforcement cameras. Other cities have shut off their red-light cameras due to the program costing more than the cameras generated in fines. Carlsbad, Del Mar, Encinitas, San Marcos, Solana Beach, and Vista still use red-light cameras. The total cost in fines, court fees, and traffic school is around $600. Due to budget constraints, traffic commissioners have been advised by their presiding judges not to lower red-light fines for violators who show up in court.

In 2001, California adopted Vehicle Code Section 21455.6, which outlaws the use of photo speed enforcement. Arizona has shut off their freeway speed cameras, usually found in rural areas, after shots were fired into mobile roadside equipment around the state.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

In-n-Out alters iconic symbol to reflect “modern-day California”

Keep Palm and Carry On?
Next Article

Escondido planners nix office building switch to apartments

Not enough open space, not enough closets for Hickory Street plans
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader