Torrance residents:
PLEASE ATTEND the Torrance Traffic Commission meeting TONIGHT!
June 1, 2026 (TONIGHT!)
Time: 7 pm PST
Location: West Annex Commission Room (3031 Torrance Blvd.)
The specific agenda item is Item 7a.
Thank you!
We need to stop this Red Light Camera/Automated Ticketing madness.
PLEASE attend the Torrance Traffic Commission Meeting tonight (June 1, 2026), and speak out against the proposal of automated traffic ticketing scams.
NO RED LIGHT CAMERAS!
NO SPEED CAMERAS!
The police need to do the job, even if that means the city has to reroute police patrols to monitor high-impact intersections.
The surveillance state is encroaching on us, even into the city of Torrance.
I have heard complaints from the city council and residents about traffic scofflaws running through red lights.
The answer is not to violate our rights.
There are a host of problems with this proposal.
Here's a comprehensive list of reasons why automated ticketing cameras should be banned in Torrance:
1. Studies and stats show an increase in accidents after camera systems are deployed. Independent, DOT, and University Studies:
▪ Florida 2015 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fyDOZtYwYo || http://warondriving.com/post/138704116207/florida-red-light-cameras-american-traffic-solutions-acc
▪ Arizona
⁃ https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2016/02/03/arizona-house-bill-would-prohibit-red-light-speed-cameras/
⁃ Peoria 400% INCREASE in accidents http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/28/2887.asp
⁃ Tucson http://thenewspaper.com/news/48/4824.asp
▪ Texas
- Round Rock 2014 http://legacy.kvue.com/story/news/investigations/defenders/2014/07/14/despite-cameras-more-injured-at-round-rock-intersections/12641313/
▪ Dozens of other studies from Universities and DOT’s dating back 20 years show an increase in collisions http://www.campaignforliberty.org/state-blogs/arizona/red-light-camera-studies-show-increase-in-accidents
2. Cities and towns are constantly being caught shortening Yellow Times to increase profits:
▪ Major scandal across entire state of Florida; Millions of dollars in tickets to innocent drivers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdD5fvYHtKQ
▪ Paradise Valley caught with dangerously short yellows, Refunds issued ($200K) http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2009/06/arizona-group-forces-city-to-refund-tickets-over-short-yellow/
▪ AAA catches short yellow light times all over New York http://nypost.com/2012/10/08/citys-gotcha-traffic-cameras-use-short-yellow-lights-to-increase-ticket-revenue-study/
▪ Chicago’s notoriously dangerous, short yellow light times (Redflex) http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/watchdog/redlight/ct-yellow-light-timing-met-20141223-story.html
▪ A compilation of data from six California cities shows red light violations go down when the yellow signal is increased http://thenewspaper.com/news/47/4716.asp
▪ Virginia Department of Transportation funded report that confirms the link between short yellow times and red light running http://thenewspaper.com/news/47/4707.asp
3. Redflex and American Traffic Solutions (ATS) voted out and canceled contracts, and declared illegal by courts
▪ 2015
⁃ Tucson, AZ Prop 201 http://www.epictimes.com/shawndow/2015/11/tucson-az-red-light-camera-ban-passes-prop-201/
⁃ Arlington, Texas Voters Dump Cameras And Pro-Camera Mayor http://thenewspaper.com/news/46/4698.asp
⁃ Colorado Legislature Votes To Ban Traffic Cameras http://thenewspaper.com/news/46/4696.asp
⁃ Two more CA cities dump red light cameras (More than 60 total statewide) http://thenewspaper.com/news/46/4642.asp
⁃ Florida town sues Red Light Camera vendor http://thenewspaper.com/news/46/4686.asp
⁃ Red Light Cameras out in Conroe, TX http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/courier/news/red-light-cameras-out-in-conroe/article_deecc0fa-28f5-5a3b-8eaa-a4847f559564.html
▪ 2014
⁃ Sierra Vista, AZ http://www.tucsonnewsnow.com/story/27347516/sierra-vista-traffic-camera-enforcement-comes-to-a-stop
⁃ South Dakota, statewide ban http://thenewspaper.com/news/43/4372.asp
⁃ Missouri Courts repeatedly shut down Redflex and ATS ticket camera schemes http://thenewspaper.com/news/45/4597.asp || REFUNDS http://thenewspaper.com/news/46/4614.asp
▪ 16 States have Red Light Camera/Photo Radar Bans http://thenewspaper.com/news/27/2769.asp
▪ Cameras crushed at ballot box in 90% of elections across the US http://thenewspaper.com/news/36/3655.asp
4. Redflex executives, lobbyists plead guilty to bribery, fraud and under ongoing Federal investigation; Ties directly to Arizona
▪ Redflex CEO Karen Finley of Arizona pleads guilty to bribery, convicted http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/watchdog/redlight/ct-red-light-bribe-plea-ohio-20150619-story.html
▪ Rahm Emanuel’s Transportation Manager, John Bills convicted of bribery and mail fraud http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/Red-Light-Camera-Trial-Ex-Chicago-Official-John-Bills-Redflex-Verdict-366574951.html
▪ Lobbyist John Raphael is the latest on the Red Light Camera “Perp List” http://www.epictimes.com/shawndow/2015/10/red-light-camera-bribery-perp-list/
▪ Did Karen Finley and Redflex bribe Arizona Officials? http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/did-karen-finley-and-redflex-bribe-arizona-officials-7434616
5. Other scandals, including ATS and Redflex
▪ ATS under Federal Investigation in Texas, over sloppy and potentially criminal behavior in its contractual dealings with Tyler County http://www.tylerpaper.com/TP-News+Local/230803/a-year-later-questions-still-loom-over-smith-county-speed-camera-deal
▪ American Traffic Solutions Deception - VP Grilled on Air in Seattle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viKQQIShquY
▪ Former Federal Agent Exposes American Traffic Solutions and City of Scottsdale Fraud and Corruption https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sl2LR9gi_dg
▪ American Traffic Solutions Automatically Charging Credit Cards For Camera Tickets https://youtu.be/-OEIH1HERHc
▪ American Traffic Solutions Lied About Ticket Money Going to Trauma Centers https://youtu.be/jv3XugP3iGw
▪ Louisiana: Redflex Lobbyists paid a cut of each camera ticket http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2015/02/claims_in_red-light_camera_lit.html
6. Constitutional Violations and other legal problems for camera systems:
Photo Ticketing has been ruled or deemed Unconstitutional by a federal court, state court, or county prosecutor’s office where that system was operating:
▪ Arizona (County Attorney’s Office) - http://thenewspaper.com/news/26/2698.asp
▪ Florida (U.S. District Court of Appeals) - http://www.local10.com/news/red-light-camera-lawsuit-filed-on-behalf-of-fla-drivers
▪ Missouri (Multiple Courts) - http://thenewspaper.com/news/42/4288.asp
▪ Minnesota (State of MN Supreme Court) - http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/16/1688.asp
▪ Ohio (8th District Court of Appeals) - from Cleveland.com
▪ St. Louis, MO - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFZ5KdNoGt4
Constitutional Violations
▪ 4th Amendment - 4th Amendment violation occurs when every single license plate of the registered vehicle owner of every single vehicle passing by the cameras is scanned by ALPR technology and kept in a database that is owned by Redflex Traffic Systems. This is an illegal search of extremely sensitive information, which includes the registered owner’s physical address and Social Security Number. Information about their payment history on anything ranging from vehicle insurance to court fines and child support is also data-mined by the cameras. That data is then run through a law enforcement database called NLETS, to look for matches to their “Person of Interest” program. This info is then also shared with the municipality in which it was obtained. A police officer would have to prove “probable cause” to conduct this kind of search, yet every single vehicle owner, regardless of the speed or position of their car in an intersection during the green, yellow or red phase has this illegal search conducted by the cameras.
▪ 5th, 6th, and 7th Amendments - Violations of these 3 amendments occur every time a photo ticket is issued. When the contracts between the camera vendor and the cities/towns are signed, the vendor is given authority to ask the registered owners of vehicles cited for violations to forfeit their Constitutional rights. Then, if a vehicle owner chooses to argue the matter before a judge, the only person available for them to cross examine is an employee of that private company (camera vendor). Arguments about the accuracy of the equipment used to detect the violation are not admissible. It’s actually been made impossible to argue photo tickets on Constitutional grounds in Arizona because the courts have been allowed to lower the burden of proof required to convict down to a “preponderance of the evidence.” This, in layman’s terms, amounts to a “hunch” that the vehicle owner may be guilty. Photo ticketing apologists hope that an innocent vehicle owner doesn’t put up a stink when someone else was driving a vehicle registered to them and just pays the fine. The owner often feels compelled by the language of the citation to simply pay up to avoid having their license suspended or ultimately getting their vehicle seized, based on an alleged violation that did not involve them at all. How does the way these citations are issued and handled by the courts constitute any sort of due process or right to a trial and right to face one’s accuser? Frankly, it doesn’t by any stretch of the imagination.
▪ 14th Amendment - How can laws, yes even civil and criminal traffic codes, be equally enforced when photo tickets have an immediately higher fine amount than police officer-issued tickets? How is equal protection present when politicians, judges, commercially registered vehicle owners, married people, and those who register their car to a private mailbox are all exempted from photo tickets? Tonner Vs. Paradise Valley (1994), which is currently the highest a photo ticket case has ever gone in Arizona courts, upheld that personal service is required for traffic tickets to be valid. Photo tickets are always sent by regular mail and can later be served in person, but not if the name on the vehicle registration doesn’t match the driver's assumed gender. That determination is made by examining a still frame image captured from the streaming video recorded by the cameras. If the registered vehicle owner’s spouse is driving, the ticket is invalid. Rule 4i in Arizona Civil Procedure allows any ticket to be dismissed by the municipality, whether it’s because of registered owner’s status as a politician, judge or employee of the camera company. Yes, it’s also applied to those who ignore their tickets for 120 days after a complaint is filed with the court for non-responsiveness to the mailed citation. Those who choose to fight their tickets also face higher fines imposed by some courts under the guise of “administrative fees.”
