Red light traffic cameras can be a real pain in the butt. The fines can be outrageous, the points lead to higher insurance rates and the programs can even take hard-working police officers off the streets. But what happens if you simply throw the ticket in the trash? In Los Angeles County, the answer seems to be a whole lot of nothing.

The Newspaper reports that red light camera revenue is down by one third after LA Police Commissioner Alan Skoban called the cameras "a voluntary citation program" back on June 7. The cameras have already been shut down in Los Angeles, but surrounding cities are losing boat-loads of dough. Since that June announcement, photo enforcement vendors are reportedly losing $1 million per month.

Still, while red light camera tickets are down, they're certainly not out. Drivers still paid 25,693 tickets at nearly $500 a pop from May through September. That's nearly $30 million over the course of a full year, which gets split between municipalities and the traffic camera system companies.

We're not sure what is more noteworthy - red light cameras that dole out $500 tickets, or ticked motorists that continue to pay outrageous fines even though the program is "voluntary." It appears the moral fiber of this country is still high... or not enough motorists know that the tickets don't have to be paid.One-third of red light camera violators in LA opting not to pay voluntary citations originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 25 Oct 2011 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.


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