Texas: ATS Sues City For Insufficient Red Light Camera Ticketing

TheNewspaper.com ^ | 02/16/2011 | n/a

[Ken H]

Red light camera company sues Baytown, Texas over results of anti-camera referendum.

Traffic camera vendor American Traffic Solutions showed no municipal love as it filed a breach of contract suit against Baytown, Texas on Monday. The St. Valentine's Day complaint accused the city of failing to approve the mailing of an expected number of red light camera citations generated by the company.

According to court filings, ATS generated 2420 tickets in November 2010, and the city accepted all but 425 -- an 82 percent approval rate. The next month, ATS generated 2837 tickets, but the city only approved 587 -- a 21 percent rate. By January, the city had only approved two tickets.

ATS insists that failure to allow the mailing of tickets constitutes material breach of a contract binding through the year 2019. For its part, the city is unable to approve any tickets because voters approved a referendum in November prohibiting the use of red light cameras unless a police officer is present to witness any alleged offense. ATS has refused to acknowledge this public vote.

"As you know, the entire purpose of the program is to automate the detection of red light runners without the necessity of relying upon personal observation by a peace officer," ATS lawyer Andy Taylor wrote. "That is why the agreement involves the city's use of the Axsis system 'only for the purpose of detecting a violation or a suspected violation of a traffic-control signal.' By changing the program to require personal observation of red light running by a peace officer, the city has unilaterally breached the material terms of the agreement."

The city countered that ATS is not entitled to any compensation because the company has breached the contract.

"On November 15, 2010, the voters of the city of Baytown, through the initiative process, enacted an ordinance which altered the law regarding automated red light enforcement systems," interim City Manager Robert D. Leiper wrote. "According to the new law, a peace officer must witness the violation in order for a civil penalty to be assessed. This new requirement imposed by law does not eliminate the automated red light traffic enforcement system in Baytown but merely adds another step which must be satisfied for notices of violations to be issued. ATS agreed in Section 12 of the agreement that it 'shall at all times comply with... all local laws, ordinances and regulations...' but has failed to date to comply with this new law."

To add insult to injury, Baytown sent ATS a bill on January 25 demanding $4946 to cover the firm's share of the cost of red light camera ticket refunds. ATS turned to a Harris County judge to ask for a trial that would settle whether the company can recover the full amount of its investment in the Baytown program. Byron Schirmbeck, who led the initiative petition effort as director of saferbaytown.com, says this case is proof that the camera program has always been about the money, not safety.

"I sincerely hope that any city considering entering into a contract with a photo enforcement corporation contacts the city of Baytown to see what kind of headache they will be facing if they decide to get in bed with this organization, and then the cameras are forced out with a vote," Schirmbeck told TheNewspaper. "The profits you make won't be worth it."

[a fool in paradise]

The City of Houston is CORRUPT as Democrat donkey droppings.

The CITY wants to lose the challenge to the referendum on the red light cameras because it does not want to see the revenue stream dry up. An activist judge prevented private citizens from arguing on behalf of the referendum that was passed even though the city has at every turn fought the citizens over any possible end to these lights (including trying to keep the issue off the ballot AND renegotiating the contract in favor of the corporation and NOT the city).

[miele man]

I don’t know YET if my town has contracted with this particular company but cameras have been installed like topsy recently. I notice now that the time the yellow light is on has seemingly been shortened. From the time I first got a driver license, I recall the purpose of a yellow light is to clear an intersection. Seems to me that with shorter yellow times, it can only mean more folks will be caught in the intersection during a red light. I’ve been timing the yellow lights and they range from 4 to five seconds.

[HereInTheHeartland]

I have often said that the cities can keep the red light cameras.
But any profits should go to any other entity such as the state.
Then we would see if the cameras were really about safety!

[Ditter]

I see that as BS. The rear end accidents are not the killers, those would be the broadside accidents and those are up.

[Gaffer]

They are revenue-only resources, period. To boot, they are so damned lazy they don’t even want a police officer to review the data....I don’t care about statistics, especially from those that stand to gain from the revenue received. The old line about “you have the right to face your accuser” doesn’t seem to hold water here. If I could do it, I’d burn every one I come across like the Brits do with gas-soaked tires.

[Trailerpark Badass]

Make the assholes who thought this was a good idea pay for it.

[a fool in paradise]

That’s okay. The city has installed HUNDREDS of homeland security cameras around downtown streets.

They say it will make the city safer. They even tried to make the case that the Times Square bomber was apprehended because of camera footage. Except it was some heavyset white guy who was pursued and not the Islamist who actually drove the bomb laden van to Times Square.

Won’t PREVENT anything. Even red light cameras don’t stop people from running lights. It just tickets the offense as police officers are still permitted to do. It’s still a crime to run red lights.

[Marty62]

Maybe Baytown residents should contact this guy: CameraFRAUD Demands FBI Investigation Media Inquiries: media@camerafraud.com Attorney and CameraFRAUD member Michael Kielsky has uncovered potentially damning information regarding photo enforcement process service within Arizona. The revelation? Widespread, illegal certificates of service, admittedly completed by office workers instead of the actual server. Developing… Just got back from court with another Photo Radar case win — but how I won “shocked” even me. The case was set for a process server hearing, and the process server was there, seemed to remember the service, and otherwise was a credible witness, leaving me little room to challenge the service. I then asked if he had notes from the day of service, which he confirmed, and I asked if I could see them. I compared his notes to the certificate of service, and saw that some of the demographic specifics were off (the height was 5″ off, the age was specific instead of the range in the notes, the weight was off by 5 lbs.). I then asked him about the differences (in that, more than anything else, the height seemed significant). Bombshell alert: He answered that he sends his notes in to the process service office, and then someone there fills out the certificate of service with all the details, and adds a digitized image of his signature, and the files it. My jaw hit the desk. I asked him to confirm that the certificate was completed from his notes, and that he did not review it before it was signed, under penalty of perjury, with his digitized signature, and he confirmed, and said that’s the way they always do it, in 10′s of thousands of cases. I argued to the judge that I had no issue with the digitized signature, but that the certificate of service was void, as it was completed and signed without his review, and it did not accurately reflect his own notes regarding the service. The judge questioned the process server some more about this process, and, among other things, he admitted, that, well yes, for eviction service, that’s not how they do it, but for photo radar they do. Case dismissed. http://camerafraud.wordpress.com/tag/james-tuton/

[Neidermeyer]

If you go to the newspaper you see that ATS’s attorney is “Andy Taylor” ... Aunt Bea would NOT approve...

[Ken H]

Houston shut down their redlight cameras. I saw a collision yesterday caused by a woman who ran a red light.

Your point being?

[Mr Ramsbotham]

I wonder if I.G. Farben sued the Allies when the Nazis could no longer supply slave labor for its factories.

[Marty62]

This James Tuton guy is the only one listed as an officer of this company. No public info on board members etc. Do Cities think it’s above the smell test to do business with a company like this?

[goat granny]

I have been T boned 3 times and they have all been in parking lots. Old car, dropped my collision cause I can now find my car in the parking lot. Its the one with the dented front door, driver side. Its color is the same as dozens of other cars in the parking lot...I drive my kids nuts, don’t know why.. If I had put in a claim for all 3 my insurance would be out of sight. They are not large dents, but all 3 were in the same place..some idiot backed into me as I was driving out of the lot. No one seems to look behind them in a parking lot..I am paranoid about them now..

[TexasCajun]

A contract is a contract regardless what voters say.

Baytown, like Houston will have to pay up bigtime to get out of their contracts.

[Ditter]

I guess my point was that red light runners are fools and they cause accidents that kill people. Surely you don’t disagree with that.

[Stevenc131]

The state of Georgia legislature passed a law recently that set a minimum time for Yellow light to remain on. This increased the time the yellow light was on by 1 to 2 seconds in most cities and counties if I remember correctly. The number of redlight tickets dropped by something like 80% in many areas.

Since the city in the story had a contract, the citizens should have just voted to increase the yellow light time to something like 4 seconds, giving drivers plenty of time to clear the intersection. ATS would have lost interest in running the system without any profits, and the city wouldn’t have been in any violation of the contract since all they did was up the time for the yellow light.

[SeeSac]

Houston shut down their redlight cameras. I saw a collision yesterday caused by a woman who ran a red light.

Studies show that accidents increase at intersections after red-light cameras are installed...

I see that as BS.

Please show me where I am wrong.

The rear end accidents are not the killers, those would be the broadside accidents and those are up.

Was anyone killed in the accident you referenced?

[DariusBane]

So you are of the school that believes:

Safety and Order are more important than Liberty.

You desire to live in a highly controlled, predictable environment with safety guaranteed by the State. You are willing to have all manner of boots, guns, tasers, courts, and jails to get what you want.

I would recommend that you take charge of your own safety, accept the fact that we are all mortal and will soon die. Enjoy life when it is good, do your best in the face of adversity and leave the people around you out of your court imposed faced of safety and security.

Laws will not make you safe. You can minimize your personal risk by taking measures, being alert to your surrounding. You posses free will and a brain. It may keep you safe. The good Lord may or may not. But none of us lives forever and this life is just a vapor.

[Selmore]

Camera cops shouldn't be allowed but if they have a legal contract, how can it be undone?

When they voted to change the rules they should have also mentioned to the voter the cost of paying off this company. (ie a vote yes will mean no more cameras but we have to pay this company millions to cancel the contract.) Also, 1/3 of the profit to the municipal is fair, if the company handles all cost. You have to figure the construction/admin cost would be at least 1/3, so it's not like the companies are getting rich.

[mvpel]

Houston shut down their redlight cameras. I saw a collision yesterday caused by a woman who ran a red light.

Other people have seen collisions caused by a woman who slammed on her brakes on a yellow in order to avoid a camera ticket.