On intersections marked with crosswalks, state law defines running a red light as failing to cross the outer edge of the outermost crosswalk line when the light turns red. If any portion of the car crosses that line while the light is yellow, there is no violation.

Agnew said Berkeley police primarily focus on pedestrian right-of-way and speeding enforcement. Berkeley anticipates that the cameras will generate between 90 and 100 tickets a month at each of the three intersections. At $161 per ticket, Berkeley would take in roughly $550,000 a year from the cameras.

“I would have looked a lot more carefully at this type of program in our community,” said Councilmember Max Anderson, who wasn’t on the council for the 2003 vote. “I’m not a big fan of surveillance cameras.”

Asked if the cameras could detect anything other than red light violations, Mostowfi, replied, “Not at this time”. He added that in accordance with the new state law that seeks to secure the privacy of the driver, Berkeley would shred red light camera photos within six months.

The five-year contract with Transol offers the city an option to end the program once a year or to expand it to more intersections. To meet the state-mandated 30-day notice period before launching the program, Mostowfi said the city will begin media announcements and issue warning letters to offenders rather than tickets for the first 30 days the cameras are in operation.

Transol, an Austrialian-based company, is a relatively new entrant to the California market for red light cameras. There are no reports that judges or municipalities have shut down their systems.

Council member Kriss Worthington defended the council’s approval of the cameras. “I see it as a safety thing,” he said. “If people see a higher chance of getting a ticket, they will run fewer red lights and it will be safer for pedestrians and other drivers.”

Red light cameras have had mixed safety benefits, depending on the study. In Oxnard, Calif., broadside accidents—the type most associated with motorists running red lights—decreased by 32 percent, according to a 2001 study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a supporter of red light cameras. According to the state audit, a San Diego report, using data from 1995 through 2001, found that red light violations in the county decreased by 20 percent to 24 percent, but rear-end collisions increased by 37 percent. The report assumed that rear collision rates would decrease over time as drivers became more accustomed to the lights.

For drivers weary of the new technology, online merchant Phantom Plate offers a spray it claims makes license plates highly reflective and unreadable when the camera flashes. According to the state audit, of seven local governments reviewed, they enforced only 23 percent of violations because of the difficulty of obtaining clear photographs.ª

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