Motorists Outraged at Paying ‘Voluntary’ Red-Light Camera Tickets

As Los Angeles’ City Council prepares to vote on dropping the city’s red-light camera program on Wednesday morning, it has been revealed that the fines issued from the cameras were OPTIONAL AND NOT MANDATORY! According to Richard Tefnak, executive director of the city’s Board of Police Commissioners, the fines are simply part of a “voluntary payment program.” As Councilman Bill Rosendahl said, “The consequence is somebody calling you from one of these collection agencies saying ‘pay up.’ And that’s it. There’s no real penalty in terms of your driver’s license or any other consequence if you don’t pay.” The news is obviously devastating to those who have already paid such fines, such as Bob Brickman, a 61 year old alcohol and drug recovery counselor who finally coughed up $476 for a ticket after fighting the citation in court for months. “Now that makes me nuts. 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.”