Apparently many in Baton Rouge are not happy with the Red Light Cameras

There should just be 1 "complain about cameras" thread. Posting this is just to encite another debate and you know it. I will summarize it.
"cameras are a scam just for money"
"don't run red lights and you won't get a ticket"
"yellow light times are reduced to get tickets"
"I have red lights by me that I swear the yellow light is less than 2 seconds"
"I think it makes the streets safer"
"It isn't about safety, it is about making money"

According to what I read on the Arizona State website, as I recall, if you pay the red light or speed camera ticket when you get it there are no points charged against your license and they do not report it to your insurance Company. If you ignore it they still come after you to collect but they also then charge points against your license and report it to your insurance Company.

These are some quotes from documents on the Arizona DPS website about examples of what they have caught with the speed cameras:

"Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Arizona Department of Public Safety arrests Earl Simmons aka “DMX” for criminal
speeding on the Loop 101
On May 6th at about 3:00pm Arizona Department of Public Safety Officers arrested
Rapper/Actor Earl Simmons better known as “DMX” at his residence in Cave Creek on charges
of racing on a highway, reckless driving, two counts of endangerment and three counts of
criminal speed and driving on a suspended license.
On January 21st 2008 at approximately 8:24pm Simmons was photographed by stationary
cameras on the northbound lanes of the Loop 101 driving a 1966 Chevy Nova II at a speed of
100 miles per hour. One minute later as his car reached the Loop 101 at Cactus, cameras
recorded Simmons speed at 114 mph. Less than three minutes later Simmons was caught on
camera at 101 miles per hour. The posted speed limit is 65 miles per hour.
After a period of investigation, DPS Officers made the arrest of Simmons yesterday at his home.
Mr. Simmons was cooperative. He was booked into the Scottsdale City Jail and bonded out
today. His case was forwarded to the Scottsdale City Prosecutor’s Office.
“This is an important arrest. Criminal speeding endangers the lives of everyone on the road. Mr.
Simmons wasn’t signaled out because of his notoriety, we have made several arrests in the last
few months of those people who flagrantly violate the speed limit and therefore endanger the
lives of everyone else on the road. The photo enforcement program on the Loop 101 is making a
difference with safety out on the highway,” said Roger Vanderpool Director of the Arizona
Department of Public Safety."

"Monday, February 25, 2008
Arizona Department of Public Safety Photo Enforcement Update
DPS has made nine arrests for criminal speeding in connection with the Loop 101 stationary
Photo Enforcement Program. Since its inception, the Loop 101 portion of the program has
resulted in approximately 57,404 citations.
The highest speed recorded by the Loop 101 stationary photo enforcement cameras was 131
miles per hour. Julius Rene Paet Malantangay of Mesa, the driver of the vehicle traveling at that
speed, was arrested on October 31, 2007 for two counts of Criminal Speed, one count of reckless
driving and one count of endangerment.
The Highest speed recorded by the stationary photo enforcement cameras on the Loop 101 in
January was 114 miles per hour. In December the highest speed was 116 miles per hour.
To date the motorist with the most violations is Samantha L. Ingalls of Queen Creek. Ms. Ingalls
was captured by stationary cameras on State Route 101 exceeding the speed limit on 29 separate
occasions. On January 10th, 2008, Ingalls was arrested for three counts of reckless driving and
three counts of criminal speed. In addition, she was served with 25 civil traffic speed citations."

In Maryland, the DOT will not allow you to renew your registration if the car has outstanding camera tickets.

In Manitoba Canada, there are no driver's demerits for red light cameras. They have no effect on insurance.

Here's what can happen to you if you don't pay your fines:- http://www.gov.mb.ca/justice/fines/index.html

----------------
What will happen if I do not pay my fines by the due date?

If you do not pay your fines by the due date the following may occur:

- You will not be able to renew your driver’s licence until the fine is paid.

- The fine will be sent to a collection agency.

- The fine will be listed with a credit reporting agency.

The following may also occur without advance notice:

- Your wages or bank account may be garnished.

- The sheriff may be sent to seize your personal property such as your vehicle, electronic equipment or other valuable property.

- A lien may be placed against your home or other property.

- Your income tax refunds may be seized.

Well your neighbor has them and I agree they stink. The other post has it right. Do not run them and you will not get a ticket. All just have to be careful now approaching them.

Hya,
I'm new arround here and live in europe (one of the smaller countries Belgium), but if I read all these things it looks so familiar.
These issues started over here a couple of years ago. First you saw cams at crossings, next they were placed on roads for speed, and the latest are controlling trajectory (they spot you at one place and then on a next place, check the time and they have your average speed)
I don't know how many cams there are in the states but I'm sure that we out number them. Just a few months ago they started with about 3000 new ones. Telling it's for our safety, right. They only need money. They are practicly at every redlight. And we have lots of redlights.
On some places, the so called black spots I can understand these cams but when driving in the middle of nowhere. And then they find it strange that some of these cams are demolished. Mostly burned down.
There are differences between the countries. Some have lots of cams other almost none.
POI for these cams are legal in most countries but in other you loose your GPS and get a nice fine.
If you ever have intensions to come to europe. Keep it in mind.
If you need POI for europe here is a free site www.flitspalen.nl. they have over 22000 locations. You just have to register.

Before we know it there are more speedcams then trees.

Grtz G

It's different here in Ohio, No Points, No tag infractions. The Local Government & the camera company will send you to collections I would imagine if you ran up enough tickets and after a civil court date, and found guilty they might try to seize personal property to satisfy the debt.

My bet, a lien against your property!

Best thing to do is pay the ticket and prevent the impact to your credit history & potentially assets....

The only way to truly fight back is a sizable public outcry to the state legislature... to eliminate the revenue potential to the local jurisdiction. You will see these things disappear faster than the preverbal poop through a goose... Until the public can muster up that type of response.. we are banging out heads against the wall... Local jurisdictions see this as an invaluable revenue source hiding behind traffic safety....

Just my 2 cents

I agree. Ignoring a ticket and hoping it goes away is a bad idea no matter where you live. Even if you're ticketed out of state, the ticket can follow you, as some states have reciprocity. Even if you've "heard" that camera/parking tickets don't count against your record in your area, you can't assume that they won't change the law or the enforcement of it at some point and apply the change retroactively to your ticket. (My guess: Baton Rouge will soon, if it hasn't already.) Drivers' license or registration plate suspension, arrest, fines and penalties that escalate many times over, and/or sharply higher auto (and even home or other) insurance rates have all happened to people who ignored a ticket. If you get a ticket, learn more about the situation if you need to, and either fight it, or pay it, but don't ignore it.

I haven't gotten a camera ticket, but if I did, I would fight it unless I was certain I deserved the ticket or unless the cost of fighting it was much higher than paying the fine. I know the deck is often unfairly stacked against fighting these tickets (such as having "administrative hearing officers" who may have an incentive to disallow your claim instead of judges), but I'd still fight if I thought the ticket was even a little unfair.

Not so! I was definitely NOT trying to entice a debate. There must be some sort of history that prompted your comment. Also, this was not intended to be a "Complain about cameras" thread. In fact, it was intended to be a neutral comment. I personally agree have NO COMPLAINT about the cameras (at this time..)

Perhaps if you don't like reading discussions on red light cameras, you should set your account to NOT show you this discussion forum, as it seems that red light camera discussions in the appropriate forum for them are some how upsetting to you.

I didn't read the original post as a "complain [sic] about cameras" post but rather a tid bit of info about a high rate of refusal to pay in Baton Rouge. If you want to censor people's posts, feel free to start your own web site with a discussion forum.

Smooch,
PT

Oh brother here we go!

May I suggest that you don't click the thread again.. no slack for you.. This thread is open for debate. If Cameras where legit, wouldn't a judge levee payment, jail time or points to your license?
However they can't so the cities put you in front of a clerk and if you don't show up or pay your fine they send you to collections.

Bob

Bob, you obviously did not read my post. I posted a comment about a news item in Baton Rouge, nothing more, nothing less. You are most definitely responding to words that were not in any remark that I made. I suggest you go back and re-read MY comments.... I appears that this must be at hot item and that someone else out there has perhaps ticked you off....

I live and work in one of the Phoenix East Valley cities where red light cameras are in wide use and people have learned to slow down and stop on the amber light to avoid the cost of a ticket. This past weekend we went to Cottonwood, Az, where they do not have red light cameras and I quickly learned not to stop on amber for fear of getting rear-ended. So many cars would speed up when the lights turned amber - you could hear them kick-down and vrooom through the lights trying to beat the red. It also seems the red lights may just be a suggestion up there, the cars kept on coming through well after their light had turned red.

Bob in Az - Nuvi 750

Hey Bob,

I just moved to AZ from CA and drive around in fear that I'm either going to get a red light violation, or a speeding violation. In CA, Orange light means speed up... red light means keep going you can get through! Here in Phoenix people slam on their brakes at the first sight of an orange light and it's definitely taken a while to get used to!!

Better than when I first moved here 10 years ago and any time gained from going through the yellow was then lost waiting after the next light turns green while the cars going through the red pass so you don't get killed.

Phoenix had nearly triple the death rate of red light running crashes than the second most city in the country. Mesa was third on the list(suburb of Phoenix). I have no doubt that number has decreased dramatically. Not a bad deal for the city to get paid to save lives. It is usually the other way around.

I'm often amazed that simple things like this.....along with jack-rabbiting from one light only to sit at the next one....seems to escape a really LARGE number of people. Just proves that common sense isn't so common after all.

Absolute wrote:

There should just be 1 "complain about cameras" thread. Posting this is just to encite another debate and you know it."

I stand in front of you and plead for mercy, It was the above that I was speaking of.
Sorry I didn't cut your quote out of the message.

Bob

I apologize. You are in the minority here then if you did not post it to incite another "riot". Maybe me pointing the argument out actually spared us from having to go through it in this thread;)

Yeah when I am on my bike (or when I used to drive a stick) if I am sitting at a light and when it turns green I see the next one turn red I just give it a little gas to pick up some speed and then coast to the light and it is usually turning green when I get there. The person next to me guns it only to have to be sitting at the red light as I coast up and hit the gas when it turns green leaving him far behind.