Los Angeles Ends Red Light Cam Ticketing Program

(CBS News)  Los Angeles - one of more than 500 cities that have red light cameras - has decided to pull the plug.

As CBS News National Correspondent Ben Tracy reported, Los Angeles' system managed to be unpopular and a money-loser at the same time.

Los Angeles has 32 red light cameras at various intersections around the city. Since 2004, they have caught 180,000 drivers breaking the law. Yet only about 60 percent of them ever paid the whopping $500 tickets. The city was reportedly losing $1.5 million a year on the program, according to the City of Los Angeles' information.

So on Wednesday, the Los Angeles City Council unanimously voted to turn off the red light cameras.

Eric Garcetti, president of the Los Angeles City Council, said, "We want safe intersections, but there's not any data that proves this was making these intersections any safer."

At least 32 cities nationwide have turned on red light cameras only to switch them back off either because of court orders, collection issues, or data showing they don't improve safety.

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