Drivers hoping to chop hundreds of dollars off future fines for a “California stop” have received a reality check from the governor.

Arnold Schwarzenegger late Wednesday vetoed a bill from Assemblyman Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, that would have cut in half the $450 fine issued to motorists for rolling through a right turn at a red light.

“A driver running a red light, whether they are traveling straight or turning right, makes a very dangerous traffic movement that endangers the nearby motoring public, bicyclists and pedestrians,” Schwarzenegger wrote in his veto. “Modifying existing law to make red-light violations from a right turn less egregious sends the wrong message to the public that California is tolerant of these types of offenses.”

Traffic tickets have been piling up in the Peninsula and other places where red light cameras snap pictures of violators. The Legislature and some motorists have complained that the punishment does not fit the crime and wanted the penalty lowered to $219, the same fine slapped on drivers who roll through stop signs.

But police groups around the state said the bill would only encourage drivers to speed through right turns without checking if the path is clear.

“There are few things more dangerous than the California stop,” said San Mateo Police Chief Susan Manheimer, president of the California Police Chiefs Association. “Through punitive measures, i.e. fines, we have been able to change behavior.”

But Hill, saying there was no evidence that the lower fines would increase the risk of traffic accidents, figured the governor had a different motive than safety.

“We thought he would veto it because of the money issue, the revenue,” Hill said Thursday. “This would have taken revenue away. But to me fairness is more important than extracting unnecessary and unfair money from our citizens.”

The state’s coalition of cities had also opposed the bill, saying the loss of revenue from the tickets could force some communities to shut down their cameras altogether.

Hill said he would evaluate next year, when a new governor takes office, whether to reintroduce the bill.

Meanwhile, Manheimer said the state’s chiefs will continue an outreach campaign aimed at shining the spotlight on the dangers of rolling right turns.

Contact Mike Rosenberg at 650-348-4324.