Red Light Camera Ticket Questions

No red light tickets here (yet).

I did get a speed camera warning from (chicago). My solution, stay out of there entirely. When I travel, stick to the interstate only.

Probably not a good idea to ignore. The issuing agency will probably file for collections and or submit to the dmv causing issues renewing tags or driver's license.

A comment on this thread was moderated. Please read the Forum Rules.

~Angela

I haven't gotten a red light camera ticket, but there have been a number of news articles about it.

This is for both Nassau County and Suffolk County NY. The ticket process includes a procedure for dealing with people who don't pay the fine within the time requirement. The fine goes up in steps. The longer you wait the more the fine is.

They are ready for people who never pay. Remember that a red light ticket is against the car, not the driver. They boot the car and then tow it away. To get the car back, hundreds of dollars has to be paid by the owner of the car for booting, towing, and storage, as well as the increased fine.

Also, it is not only the court, but the state Dept. of Motor Vehicles gets involved. The registration may be cancelled and the drivers license can't be renewed.

People from other states are also included since almost all states have reciprocity agreements.

dobs108

In my area, the ticket arrives in the mail with a picture of your car before it enters the intersection, including the red light, as well as a closeup of the plate.

A link to the court website is included to watch a high-res, full motion video of your car driving past the red light. This is evidence, and you need your own evidence to refute it. Without that, there is no way to be found innocent.

Many ticket recipients have said the red light camera court is a "kangaroo court," but the reality is that there is evidence against you that is difficult to disprove.

It can take hours to wait for your hearing to be called. There is no prior notice on the ticket about a dress code, but people who have waited are then told they cannot appear in court in shorts or tank tops and to return properly dressed.

dobs108

Probably ~15 years ago one of my kids got an automated speeding ticket. The picture of him driving was perfectly clear. There was no uncertainty of who was at the wheel.

In PA it's written into the law no front facing cameras. They can only capture the rear of the car. The ticket is issued to the registered owner. If that owner can prove they were not driving the car at the time the ticket is dismissed.

in Wash DC in 2002. I didn't even know cams existed back then, I believe they were 35mm cams inside a box. Or was it they were digital cams inside a box.

I paid the fine, why wouldn't I, the pics (not video) showed that I clearly ran the light.

My wife tells me, you got one ticket and it was 19+ years ago, why would you even bother to give it a second thought? meaning everytime I see PHOTO ENFORCED I am careful. Her point is why bother to be careful, just act normally. Stop before a light turns red.

What was also laughable was I was with a blonde female. My wife has dark brown hair. Then again, I didn't know her until 2006.

Most of Pennsylvania's red light cameras are in Philadelphia, and most of those run in concert with the "walk" signals which have a countdown timer, the yellow light turns on as the timer reaches 0. What happens a lot is people see the countdown timer nearing the zero and start to stop even though the light is still green. You now have to account for people starting to stop before the yellow comes on.

I'm clean, no tickets here

what it’s like elsewhere but I believe it is still so. Here they have more locations than they have cameras. So they move the cameras around and you never know if it’s a live camera there or not.
But as far as fighting a red light ticket, it’s pretty well impossible. Your car went across a predetermined spot as the light changed and no excuse!
If you pay attention HERE the pedestrian light counts down the seconds until the light changes, so be aware of that and no running a red light.

It depends where. In TX the red light cameras are on their way out. In the interim no penalty will be assessed for payment or non-payment (you will still get a citation in the mail and it will not say payment is optional). Last I checked there was 1 RLC left in TX, so it may be gone now. I realize this is not the norm. for most states, non-payment has teeth and will bite you.

panama, If it did not already occur, sounds like you want to plan a defence before the offence....Don't.... there are only two instances that I know of that an adjudicating officer (ALJ) will take into account:
(1) moving out of the way for an Emergency vehicle - law enforcement - ambulance - fire -
(2) the view to the light was blocked/obstructed by a very large vehicle.

BOTH require that YOU prove the circumstances.
In NYS / NYC, the ticket shows two images of where you were [a] time when the light turns Red [b] time when you crossed the Stop line.
NYC is notorious for Not identifying where the Red Light & Speed Cameras are located.
As a REMINDER NYC, Now has authority to run their Speed Cams 24/7;
Red Light Cams already operate 24/7.

using POIs for Red Light & Speed Cams help, together with Waze is a Big help. Good Luck

…not to go to NYC!

if you appear and contest or explain the ticket, the judge often reduces the fine.

If you are keeping an adequate spacing and a good scan this should not actually be a problem.

Here in Albuquerque the problem is the other way round. People so expect you to keep going on a yellow, and early in a red, that you risk irate sounds and gestures if you actually stop early in a yellow.

My intended practice is to hit the brake about half of full first to get the slowing started while rechecking my rear view to assess collision from behind risk before going to a higher braking level.

But I do stop for yellow unless it is too late to do so gracefully.

Sounds like they are more interested in getting people to slow down than collecting fines!
Mark

then you get a bigger ticket.

Same here

They must send you photo/video proof of the infraction. Look at the video. If your front wheels are over the white line B4 the light turns red then the ticket is invalid. Contest it.
Otherwise, pay it.

I paid mine. In the past, I forgot to pay it and they just send reminders. I don't know if it will actually go to collections. I'm guessing the bill would just raise.

Actually it is, for the very reason you state.

Yes and I had to pay more.

I think this topic is so dead, is that it's not actually a problem.

The systems work, and we either like it, or we don't. But they work.

I'm for red light cams and not for mobile speed cams, that's my position. I'm the guy doing the speed limit in a mobile speed cam zone while the avg traffic is moving at 10-20 mph over. Not really sure why hundreds of tickets aren't being issued in real time?

A lot of the mystique with wrongful tickets issued is gone.

I cannot tell you how many times I unfortunately cannot see the light because of a F550 or larger type of truck in front of me. I have no need to stop on yellow, that's not smart. But, if the truck is running the light, I'm in bad shape. So should I freeze up and stop? lol

A normal yellow light is 1 sec for every 10 mph of speed limit, so 3 seconds or longer. You don't get a ticket for crossing the line on yellow.

The system arms ms after the light has gone red. If you don't know whether it was red or not, when you went into an intersection:

1. Maybe a refresher course is needed
2. The video will show you what actually happened
3. I think we all should have dash cams, then we can look ourselves and actually become better drivers

Lastly, kids on a soccer team can stay onside. Hockey players in the NHL can really due to athleticism stay onside in a very fast moving play.

Is there any reason at all, why an adult driver, cannot stop for a red light, or proceed with caution on yellow?

This is not meant to be controversial, as I don't think controversy even exists anymore with this topic.

Here in Albuquerque many intersections have solid white lines marking the last few seconds of the lanes before the stop line. Officially they are supposed to discourage you from changing lanes near the intersection, but the way they are positioned makes them a handy cue of where to switch from "stop on yellow" to "continue on yellow". I try to make the decision in advance, so I'm not debating it at the moment I see yellow.

I can't fathom a never stop on yellow policy. I hope you don't actually mean that.