Which camera is that? A photo guide to traffic enforcement cameras

Take one street. On S La Cienega Blvd between W Pico Blvd and W Olympic Blvd in Los Angeles, LADOT lists a speed camera. On the same street, Culver City lists a red light camera at Washington Blvd and La Cienega Blvd.

In the photos, a small black camera hangs from a thin pole under a solar panel. Another is strapped to a street light pole.

How can you tell it's a Flock camera?

• Its own slim pole, or straps on a street lamp
• A dark box, its lens toward the lane
• A small solar panel above it

The look alone does not prove the maker. The map names Flock only where volunteers tagged it.

On the map, 32,745 Flock-tagged readers have their mount noted, and 2,635 of them are on a street lamp.

In the photos, two plate readers sit on an arm over the road. A small camera sits on a signal arm. A dome camera hangs over a traffic light, and a red light camera and its flash units sit on a signal pole.

A small camera on a signal arm is not always a red light camera. Some are sensors. They spot cars so the light can change.

Connecticut's state road agency says its signal cameras "do not record any information."

In California, a sign stands within 500 feet of a red light camera (California Vehicle Code §21455.5(a)(1) and §21455.9(b)(1)(A)(i)).

In the photos, red light cameras stand on poles near the corner, some with a flash unit beside the camera. A sign stands next to the camera or up the road.

A red light camera watches one intersection for cars that enter on a red light. Look for its signs. California has two red light camera laws, and each program runs under one.

Under the older law, the signs stand within 200 feet of the intersection (California Vehicle Code §21455.5(a)(1)).

The newer law sets the distance by the speed limit. On a road of 45 mph or less, one sign stands 200 to 300 feet out. On a faster road, two signs stand 200 to 500 feet out, at least 100 feet apart (California Vehicle Code §21455.9(b)(1)(A)(i)).

Under both laws, the traffic the camera checks must be able to see them.

Culver City's police department lists 12 red light camera intersections with 20 approaches. An approach is one way in. The list names intersections, not camera spots.

In Culver City, people can view the photos or video of a violation online. The city says sworn police officers look at each citation.

In California, red light camera photos are confidential.

Under the older law, they can be kept for up to six months, or until the case is closed if that comes later. Then the agency's photos must be destroyed (California Vehicle Code §21455.5(f)(3)).

The newer law allows up to 60 days after the case is closed. Some photos and video lead to no notice. They must be destroyed within five business days of that choice (California Vehicle Code §21455.9(g)(4)).

The car's owner, or the driver the owner names, can still see the photos of their case (California Vehicle Code §21455.5(g) and §21455.9(g)(5)).

Los Angeles ended its own red light cameras in 2011. Inside the city, public records list LA Metro cameras at 6 rail crossings on Crenshaw Blvd, marked unverified.

In the photos, plate readers sit on metal poles, on a wooden utility pole and on a police car's light bar.

A plate reader reads plates. It doesn't measure speed. It keeps the plate of each car that passes, with the time and the place.

Not because you did anything. Because you drove by.

A plate reader on a pole can look like a speed camera. Under AB 645, a speed camera is aimed at speeding cars (California Vehicle Code §22425(q)). A "Photo Enforced" sign comes before it (California Vehicle Code §22425(d)).

The mount is noted for 43,301 mapped plate readers in the US. 31,783 of them are on a pole. Many others sit on street lamps or traffic signals.

In California, a public agency must take public comment at a public meeting before it starts using plate readers (California Civil Code §1798.90.55).

Most operators must share a use and privacy policy with the public (California Civil Code §1798.90.51).

544 plate readers are mapped in Los Angeles, as of November 7, 2026, and each one is on the Los Angeles camera map.

For one maker's cameras, read What is a Flock camera?.

In the photos, one speed camera sits in a grey box on a post and one in a white cabinet by the curb. Another stands on a pole outside a school. A "Photo Enforced" sign marks a camera zone.

Under AB 645, a sign comes first. It says "Photo Enforced" and shows the posted limit. It stands within 500 feet before the camera, where traffic heading toward it can see it (California Vehicle Code §22425(d)).

A speed camera can look like a plate reader on a pole. Look for the "Photo Enforced" sign before it. The map shows speed cameras from agency lists.

In Los Angeles, LADOT's camera pole map shows two poles at 121 of its 125 locations.

The camera checks each car's speed. It records the rear plate of a car that breaks the speed rule in the law (California Vehicle Code §22426(b)). The law also says it must be aimed at speeding cars, not at other people, as far as it can be (California Vehicle Code §22425(q)).

The photo on a notice shows the plate and the rear of the car. The law says it must leave out the rear window (California Vehicle Code §22425(j)). A photo that leads to no notice must be destroyed within five business days of being taken (California Vehicle Code §22425(l)(4)).

Some places use other kinds. Agency lists on the map also name school zone speed cameras, work zone speed cameras and spots for mobile speed cameras. Connecticut and Maryland, for example, publish lists of their work zone speed cameras.

Each Los Angeles location is on the Los Angeles speed camera page, with its posted limit and status.

In the photos, traffic cameras sit on top of tall poles beside the freeway, or hang as small domes above city traffic signals.

A traffic camera shows the road. In Los Angeles, the map shows 226 of them on freeways and state highways.

191 report that they are in service, and you can watch the views on the Los Angeles traffic camera page. Caltrans corridor pages list the cameras along one stretch of freeway, such as Donner Pass.

Caltrans says its "video footage and still images are neither retained nor archived."

In the photos, a dome camera hangs from a street light in Washington, D.C., and a New York police camera box holds two domes. In New Orleans and Orlando, domes hang from a wooden pole and a park lamp post.

How can you tell?

• A dark dome, or a box with domes under it
• On a light pole or a signal pole
• Some boxes carry a police name

In the photos, steel gantries span the lanes, with readers and cameras over each one. In New York City, toll cameras hang from arms over the street.

Usually not by looking. The camera is ordinary; the software does the matching.

At some US airport gates, the face check is a kiosk. It has a screen and a camera on a pole, like these in Houston and Atlanta.

In the photos, cameras watch gates into limited traffic zones in Rome, Padua and Milan. A lit "Varco attivo" sign means the gate is active. "Varco non attivo" means it is off.

In California, the law asks for signs at speed cameras under AB 645 and at red light cameras. Here is what each sign says, and where it stands.