Red Light Camera Violation?

[Jimmy9190]

I got one a few years ago in Savannah, Georgia. It only took a week for them to mail me the photos of my truck going through a red turn signal light and a ticket for $75.00. I honestly could not remember running the light but I just paid the ticket anyway via the US Mail because I did not want to have any problems with my driver's license and I did not want any trouble with the law. Maybe I could have taken time off work and gone back to Savannah to fight it in court, but that would have cost a lot more than $75.00. The ticket never showed up on my driving record, it never caused any points on my driver's license and it never affected my insurance rates, either.

They have the red light cameras here in Orlando and a lot of people are complaining about them saying the cameras are unconstitutional. I agree 110% that the cameras are unconstitutional and an invasion of privacy. I heard a lawyer on a radio show not long ago saying that you can beat a camera ticket if you go to court and demand to face your accuser. The lawyer said that since no human being issued the ticket it is impossible to face your accuser and the ticket can be dismissed. I have no idea how much truth there is in that.

I do know that the cameras are not there to make the streets safer or improve traffic. The cameras serve one purpose and one purpose only: to make money. They generate a ton of money for the city and for the contractors that operate and maintain the cameras. If the red light and/or the camera itself is set up in a questionable configuration, then the cameras generate even more money.

 

[oldmaninsc]

I can never figure out how people think they have an expectation of privacy while on a public road!

We could debate the motives from now until doomsday (safety vs. revenue). There are many of them in my area and in the last 10 years or so I have never received a ticket from one (knock on wood).

My personal opinion is people have become very lazy and lax in their driving. I see people coast right through red lights on right hand turns all the time. Some barely slow down at all.

In Ca. we have the "I saw the green light so I should get to go" mentality. What I mean is - if there is a left turn lane with 8 cars in line and the light turns RED (not yellow) before the sixth car enters the intersection, cars 6, 7 and 8 will continue into the intersection and make the turn - assuming there isn't a red light camera!

Actually if one does a little research about the revenue - most cities are making very little if any money on the cameras at all and some are in fact losing money. The companies that install the cameras seem to make most of the money. I know in my city they were talking about taking them out for that very reason.

 

[tigrpal]

I received a similar citation last Friday because I didn't stop making a right turn on red. I thought I could get through on the yellow but I was late. They sent to me a citation, signed by an officer of the local police department who would be the accuser that you would face in court making the citation quite constitutional. They also sent three photos of my car going through the light including a closeup of my license plate and a link to a website which showed a video of my car going through the red light. The officer viewed the video and wrote the citation. I could appeal if I wanted but the video is pretty clear. I didn't stop and the light was red. I had three options: 1. Pay the $100 fine. 2. Write the name and address and license number of the driver of the vehicle and get him/her to pay the fine. 3. Appeal in person or by notarized affidavit. I paid the fine.

P.S. It's my first and only citation in 37 years of driving.

 

[oldmaninsc]

"The program has gone from turning a $121,000 profit in fiscal year 2007-08 to a projected deficit of roughly $150,000 in fiscal year 2010-11, which ends June 30."
http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/escondido/article_d472489e-1886-595f-bdfa-5de5953bb2ee.html


"At least 10 cities reported to the state that they actually lost money on the cameras, which snap photos of vehicles that violate the rules at monitored intersections. A few others reported just breaking even."
http://blogs.chron.com/texaspolitics/archives/2009/03/not_all_redligh.html


"As Mesa joined a growing list of communities turning over speed and red-light enforcement over to the watchful eye of cameras in 1996, the hope was that any photo enforcement program would at least break even.

The initial plan called for 13 red-light cameras at intersections with high volumes of crashes and three photo-radar vans to catch speeders. In three short years, however, the program was operating $10,000 in the red."
http://www.azcentral.com/community/mesa/articles/2010/03/05/20100305mesa-photo-radar.html


"In Libertyville, officials estimated cameras at four intersections would generate more than $460,000 in revenue for the village the first year. But in the six months since they've been installed, just under $32,000 has been collected."
http://archive.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/11/red-light-camera-revenue-falls-far-short.html

 

[M1Accord]

Originally Posted By: EricF
Well answer this question..

Does the US Mail 100% reliably every single day of the year without failure, deliver the mail to the address it is supposed to go, AND does the US Mail ever lose/misplace mail?

That answer.. is your excuse in court. You simply and merely created doubt. You are innocent until proven guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt.

So if you never received the ticket and didn't pay it.. when registration time comes you'll find out you have a ticket. You goto court and say.. I never received a ticket.

IF you pay for it.. you admit guilt.


In VA and many other states, your license is suspended if you don't pay. And it cost a lot of get your license back, even if the court makes a mistake.

 

[TMoto]

Somewhere around 12 years ago I received a speeding ticket in the mail from the city of Fort Collins, CO. There was no picture included, but the ticket stated I could go to their office and view the photo on file. I did, and saw a photograph of my car, as well as a close-up of my license plate as well as me behind the wheel.

After a bit of research, I found that this particular city considers it is a civil violation, not a moving violation. It would not appear on any MVR report and no points would be accrued regardless of my response. If I chose to ignore it, the worst they could do would be to file a civil claim against me, which was doubtful. So, I ignored it and never heard from them again.

However, if you find that a city does consider it a moving violation, I would not ignore it and pretend you never received it in the mail, regardless if you feel you could beat it or not. Murphy's law states that you will get pulled over in the future at the most inconvenient time, for something completely unrelated, and life will suddenly become miserable.

Also, I have no idea whether a ticket in one state would follow you into another, but imho the grief just isn't worth it.

 

[Spazdog]

Originally Posted By: EricF
Well answer this question..

Does the US Mail 100% reliably every single day of the year without failure, deliver the mail to the address it is supposed to go, AND does the US Mail ever lose/misplace mail?

That answer.. is your excuse in court. You simply and merely created doubt. You are innocent until proven guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt.

So if you never received the ticket and didn't pay it.. when registration time comes you'll find out you have a ticket. You goto court and say.. I never received a ticket.

IF you pay for it.. you admit guilt.

That doesn't work in Civil Court. It's balance of probabilities or preponderance of the evidence.

I've run across a JP that wouldn't even let the defendant testify.

 

[mechtech2]

There are laws concerning those payola auto light cameras that were previously unwritten, and unheard of to most.

One new burden/law [so they can rob you ] is that you have to stop for 3-5 seconds [depending where] before continuing.
Stopping is not good enough.
Being safe is not good enough.
An arbitrary time length was instituted to make sure people were going to get reamed. Now people have to wait until it is UNSAFE to continue. A big money maker, split with the mfr and installer of the devices!
Greedy slime govts!

 

[Greggy_D]

Originally Posted By: fdcg27
In most cases, these are civil claims, not misdemeanor offenses, so not paying them causes you no problems, especially if the "violation" happened out of state.
The cameras are usually promoted by contractors, who own and opearate them, giving a piece of the action to the locality with which they contract.
A shady business in every way.


This. Admit absolutely nothing and do not respond if this is the case.