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(From the latimes.com) Bob Brickman spent months fighting a ticket he got last fall from a red-light traffic camera at Wilshire and Sepulveda boulevards in West Los Angeles. The 61-year-old from Playa Vista eventually decided to give up the fight and fork over the $476 fine. Now he’s regretting paying every penny.

City officials this week spotlighted a surprising revelation involving red-light camera tickets: Authorities cannot force violators who simply don’t respond to pay them. For a variety of reasons, including the way the law was written, Los Angeles officials say the fines for ticketed motorists are essentially “voluntary” and there are virtually no tangible consequences for those who refuse to pay.

The disclosure comes as the city is considering whether to drop the controversial photo enforcement program, with the City Council scheduled to vote on the matter Wednesday. Even if the program is shut down, it will be little consolation to the tens of thousands like Brickman who already paid fines.

“Now that makes me nuts,” said Brickman, who is unemployed. “That makes me want to go get a refund, but I’ve been around long enough to know that’s not going to happen. It’s very frustrating to know that I was victimized by something that they think is not useful or a good idea.… I could truly use that $476.”

Councilman Paul Koretz said motorists like Brickman should not expect refunds. But he said the city’s inability to collect on the red-light camera tickets underscores the need to kill the program.

Read more here: Who knew L.A.’s red-light camera fines were ‘voluntary’?

According to the City of Santa Clarita and Sgt. Rich Cohen at the SCV Sheriffs office regarding the issue of enforcement, they do not view the red light violations as a voluntary thing. In fact, Sgt. Cohen said that;  “there is a collections arm of this program that does go after people who don’t pay. Santa Clarita nets about $120K a year (the City of Santa Clarita receives $150 of the $480 ticket) and all of that goes directly into traffic safety programs and projects in our community.” The City pointed out that; “statistics for intersections with the cameras thus far are very impressive; a 64% reduction in broadside collisions; a 71% decrease in red light violations and a 19% reduction in injury collisions.  Most impressive is that at the 7 intersections where we (Santa Clarita) have the cameras, we have seen zero fatalities.” 

So before you decide not to pay that ticket better check with the City or Sheriff’s department where you live!!