Red light cameras are expected to be installed at five Manteca intersection by the end of November.

The intersections are:

*Northgate Drive at North Main Street.

*Yosemite Avenue at Union Road.

*Daniels Street at Airport Way.

*Main Street at Louise Avenue.

*Yosemite Avenue at Commerce Drive-Northwoods Avenue.

Manteca Police Chief Stephen Schluer indicated red light cameras could be added at other intersections as well.

The City Council earlier this year authorized the installation of red light cameras.

The goal is to reduce injury accidents and make streets safer for pedestrians and motorists alike.

Manteca leaders have had their ears bent for years about speeding in the city as well as red light runners.

With limited traffic staffing — there are six police officers currently assigned to the unit, law enforcement has its hands full.

And as council members have noted, officers can’t be everywhere at once.

There also are concerns about the general danger to the public in pursuing red light runners when officers are in the position to see them and then give chase.

Given the challenges, the city has opted to use passive speed and traffic enforcement measures wherever possible. The city has also made reducing the potential for traffic accident as a major condition of the approval of new projects.

That has led to the more prevalent use of roundabouts, installing bulb-outs at intersections bordering new neighborhood parks to enhance pedestrian safety, speed lumps to address speeding on older streets and now the deployment of red light cameras.

The police chief said since the council gave the go ahead the department has secured easements for the cameras plus worked closely with the San Joaquin County courts to make sure the concerns of traffic commissioners are met as well as having the ability for the city system to work seamless with the courts computer system.

By Manteca blazing the trail for deploying the latest red light camera technology that includes video, radar speed readings and captured images of lights changing, Schluer said Tracy will be able to deploy their red light cameras in a quicker time period

The intersections picked for the installation have high traffic collision rates and high traffic volumes.

American Traffic Solutions is installing cameras at 20 intersection approaches initially but the contact before the city will allow up to 28 approaches if needed.

That means there will be between five and seven intersections in Manteca that could have red light cameras in place in a bid to reduce red light running that is a factor in just under 20 percent of all collisions in Manteca.

In 2022, there were more than 1,000 traffic accidents handled by the Manteca Police Department.

The contract represents a $1.5 million commitment on the part of American Traffic Solutions in terms of the technology being installed as well as the support and processing of data that is collected and forwarded to Manteca Police for review.

It is the $1.5 million investment in Manteca by the firm that contracts with more than 300 cities that underscores just how prevalent and serious red light running is in Manteca and other cities such as Tracy and Modesto where American Traffic Solutions is also working to install cameras.

California law requires contracts cities enter into with red light camera firms to be revenue neutral.

In a nutshell, that means American Traffic Solutions’ payment can’t be tied directly to the number of tickets issued.

Manteca will be billed monthly by the approach — with each intersection fully equipped with cameras has four approaches.

The city will submit payments on  a quarterly basis relying on what revenue they derive from their roughly 25 percent share of a $490 red light ticket. The balance goes to the state and court system.

At the end of the year, if Manteca fails to cover the complete tab for the approach billings, American Traffic Systems forgives the balance.

The city is out nothing.

Should the revenue from red light running tickets exceed what American Traffic Systems is due, it will go into an account being created to help fund the future hiring of a community service officer to help augment the enforcement efforts of the police department’s six officer traffic unit.

Data compiled by the National Coalition for Safer Roads indicate:

*More than 800 people per year are killed in red light accidents.

*In 2021, 1,109 people were killed in crashes that involved red light running.

*Red light safety cameras reduced the fatal red light running crash rate in large cities by 21 percent and the rate of all types of fatal crashes at signalized intersections by 14 percent.

*In 14 cities where cameras were removed, the fatal red-light-running crash rate increased by 30%, and the rate of all fatal crashes increased by 16% at all signalized intersections.

*Red-light running crashes led to around 116,000 injuries and 928 fatalities in 2020.

*Red light cameras captured more than 100,600 offenses in Tampa, Florida in 2022

Typically, 70 percent of the individual instances where the technology uses radar, high definition cameras and such to identify red light runners pass muster of police officers reviewing the data.

Once collected data is determined by police to meet the legal threshold of a red light running offense in California, American Traffic Solutions is authorized to process and mail the citation in strict accordance to state law.

The simple deployment of red light cameras have a domino effect at reducing other traffic offenses such as speeding and including red light running at intersections without cameras.

The “halo effect,” if you will, is the heightened sense of drivers that they need to follow the law or else they could be subject to costly traffic fines.

It would create a perceived reputation for Manteca that if you break traffic laws your odds of paying the price are higher.

Once the cameras are installed, there is a 30-day grace period.

Violators “caught” will be mailed warnings during that time.

Tickets, per se, won’t be issued until after 30 days.

Signs warning that red light cameras are in use will be posted 200 feet from intersections.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com