North San Diego County courts are facing severe crowding issues because of camera enforcement, just like Arizona. An estimated 25 percent increase in cases due to cameras brings the yearly trial total to 125,000. One judge threatened to block cities from adding more cameras because the court system cannot handle the load.

San Diego Police Chief David Bejarano explained the effectiveness of the cameras in a 2001 interview on Nightline: "And it's true in a few intersections we found a few more accidents than prior to the red light photo enforcement. At some intersections we saw no change at all, and at several intersections we actually saw an increase in traffic accidents."

The court also may reach a point when it will have to tell law enforcement agencies that red-light cameras cannot be added at any more intersections because the court would not be able to handle the extra citations, [Superior Court Judge Joan] Weber said. It has not reached that point yet, she said.