The $100 Stop Sign Scam
Getting a traffic ticket is no fun. It stings, usually to the tune of hundreds of dollars. What can make the experience even worse, though, is the realization that you’ve just been caught in the latest government scam to separate you from your hard earned cash.
If you want to avoid falling victim to one of the most egregious abuses of government power, you’d best avoid the public parks under the jurisdiction of the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, otherwise known as the MRCA. This little known state agency, which administers the lands belonging to the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, the Conejo Recreation and Park District, and the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District is out to get your money. And they’ll use every dirty trick possible to do it.
Their latest scheme is the installation of automated ticketing cameras at stop signs within their parks. Anyone who fails to come to a complete stop is hit with a one hundred one hundred and seventy five dollar ticket. Now we can all agree that blowing through a stop sign, especially in a park where pedestrians are likely to be present, is not only dangerous, but deserving of severe punishment as well as the contempt of your fellow citizens. But that’s not what we’re talking about here. We’re talking about what is commonly known as the California Stop, where a driver slows to a crawl but doesn’t quite stop completely before proceeding. Most drivers who engage in the rolling stop only do so when it’s clear that there’s no one around. You know, like in a quiet neighborhood or secluded park. And if there does happen to be another vehicle or pedestrian present, there’s plenty of opportunity to come to a full stop without putting anyone in danger. So, this is what is known as a technical violation. It’s a little like going 5 mph over the speed limit. Everyone does it at some point and no harm comes of it.
But regardless of the fact that this behavior puts no one at risk, the MRCA believes that if you engage in this practice on their turf, you deserve a $100 $175 fine. And to ensure that they can nab you, they’ve flagrantly skirted the state law that forbids the use of this type of automated enforcement. That’s right, this type of enforcement is not permitted under the California Vehicle Code, which is intended to be the law for all vehicles on the state’s roadways. So how can the MRCA get away with this abusive practice? They’ve simply declared that the law doesn’t apply to them. They’re special; they’re above the law. The arguments they make in support of this theory are extensive and I’ll leave that for another post where I’ll rebut them all.
What I want to concentrate on in this post, is their self serving claim that this is not about revenue enhancement, but rather all about safety. In fact, in response to the public outcry against this ticketing scheme, Joe Edmiston, executive director of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, said: “I’m more worried about a law suit from somebody whose child is killed. We’d be sued for millions for not controlling the interface between visitors and cars.” Wow, it sure sounds like there must have been massive carnage on the roadways within these parks. Joe Edmiston just had to implement these automated fines to save the children.
So how many accidents or injuries can be attributed to drivers failing to stop at the stop signs on the roadways within the jurisdiction of the MRCA? Exactly zero. Not one. Not ever. When pressed, Joe Edmiston couldn’t cite even one accident or injury. Yet it was necessary to install these automated cameras which extract tens of thousands of dollars from unsuspecting park visitors yearly all in an effort to save the children. Of course, any reasonable person can see that safety has nothing to do with it. On the contrary, this is clearly about filling the coffers of the MRCA and enhancing their power within their little fiefdom.
But if you’re still not convinced that this isn’t about safety, have a look at one of these stop sign installations enforced with an automated ticketing camera.
In this picture, taken at Marvin Braude Mulholland Gateway Park at the top of Reseda Blvd in Tarzana, you can plainly see that the stop sign sits pretty much in the middle of the road. There’s no cross street, no crosswalk, no intersection; no chance that any vehicle or pedestrian will cross your path. In fact, there’s absolutely no reason at all to have a stop sign here. And since there’s no common sense reason to stop, other than if you don’t, you’ll get a $100 $175 ticket; many motorists only slow down rather than come to a complete stop. Sure, it’s technically a violation, but only because the MRCA arbitrarily criminalized the behavior. What reason could the MRCA have for locating this sign in such a ridiculous and confusing location? Could it be purely in an attempt to collect as many $100 $175 fines as possible? It certainly isn’t to save the children.
And just to drive the point home, the reverse view of this idiotic photo enforced stop sign installation makes it even more obvious that it was placed in such a way as to ensnare the maximum number of park visitors and reap the greatest amount of revenue.
So be forewarned, the MRCA is out to rob you blind. Don’t get caught up in their revenue enhancement scheme. Photo enforced stop signs are also located in Temescal Gateway Park, Top of Topanga Overlook, Hollywood Bowl Scenic Overlook, and Franklin Canyon Park. There might be others coming soon.
And if you want to express your outrage at how a rogue government agency is engaging in highway robbery, call your city and state representatives. They’ll probably tell you it’s perfectly legal; it’s not. One field deputy for former state senator Sheila Kuehl told me, “Well if the government is doing it, it has to be legal”. Brilliant. But you don’t have to get into any legal debates. Just tell them you abhor this type of blatant revenue enhancement scheme. Tell them you want them to look into it. At the very least, they’ll be on notice that you’re keeping an eye on the actions of our public officials.
And if you happen to have gotten one of these tickets, I want to hear about it. If you’re still fighting it, maybe you can be a test case to get this overturned. If your case is already finished, you should know that there’s a class action lawsuit in the works. I’ll post more about that when I have an update.
Finally, if you suspect that I’m so outraged about this because I’ve gotten one of these bogus tickets, you’d be wrong. I’ve successfully avoided contributing to the MRCA’s stop sign fund, mainly because I refuse to visit and drive in their parks. It’s my own little boycott.
After this article was posted, I found that the citation has recently been increased to $175. Now we can all be doubly outraged.
If you’d like to be kept informed about lawsuits or other actions we’re taking to stop this illegal money grab by the MRCA, you can sign up for email alerts using the form under the heading “Subscribe to the Freedom Minute Newsletter” in the sidebar to the right of this post. Enter your name and email address and check the box for “MRCA Alerts” under “You can also sign up for specific lists” and you’ll always get the most up-to-date information.
For more detailed information about the MRCA photo enforcement scam, read the follow-up article FAQ About MRCA Stop Sign Tickets. It will answer many of your questions.
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by David Boaz or 
by David Bergland, both excellent books on libertarian thought.
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