a friend got a $350 ticket for starting to cross after the crossing signal turned from green to a flashing red hand.
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-0426-lopez-eduardo-20150424-column.html#page=1
Struggling student a victim of high fines and misdemeanors
At the Metro station downtown, he hustled up to street level and saw his bus approaching 7th and Hope streets. If he caught it, he'd make it to his first class at Glendale Community College on time. He hadn't slept in 24 hours, but he had to get to school.
No problem, he thought. The "don't walk" sign was blinking. The countdown was at 10 seconds, as he recalls, giving him plenty of time.
Saillant watched a motorcycle officer zoom across the intersection and write Lopez a ticket for violating Section 21456(b) of the California Vehicle Code, which says you can't begin to cross the street once the "do not cross" sign begins flashing.
In four years, Saillant reported, 17,075 people had been cited for the same infraction in the downtown sector, or four times as many as any other area over that period.
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Lopez was guessing his troubles would cost him $80 or $90, which would have been bad enough. But he was off by a mile.
It was a $197 whack.
"I was in shock," said Lopez, who wondered again why the officer couldn't have given him a warning instead of a ticket that's nearly one-third of his family's monthly rent, which he contributes to. "I didn't know how I was going to pay for it or what I was going to do."
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L.A. lawmakers question police ticketing of pedestrians in crosswalks
The Times recently reported that police have cited four times as many pedestrians for that offense in the division that includes downtown than elsewhere in the city.
The tickets irritate some downtown pedestrians who see them as a sign that the city is still biased in favor of the automobile, even as its urban core sometimes swarms with people walking from block to block.
A City Council motion presented by Councilman Mike Bonin and seconded by Councilman Jose Huizar, who represents much of downtown, called the vehicle code behind the tickets “one of many existing state laws that has not kept pace with the changing utilization of our public streets.”
cComments
Everyone should understand what don't walk mean. Why are these bone heads are always talking about changing the laws to accommodate people who do not care?
Bonin and Huizar want the Los Angeles Police Department to report back on the reasons and evidence for enforcing the rule, why tickets aren’t issued “with some level of discretion,” and statistics on the number of tickets issued in different parts of the city.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-flashing-hand-tickets-20150501-story.html