Damn Red Light Cameras

32 comments

• Warrior15

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  5 years ago

  Yep. Clearwater has them. And I think the Yellow lights at these are shorter to catch people also. My understanding is the company that puts these in covers all the cost of putting them in and operating them. No cost at all to the city government. But then the company gets half of that ticket. So the city views these things as revenue boosters.
• Hank Moody

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  5 years ago

  We’ve had them for nearly 20 years. I LOVE them. Yes, it sucks when you get a ticket but the DC area had a real problem with people running lights. The cameras have drastically cut down people running lights which I think is one of the most dangerous violations in the road. Not in your right on red example Papi, but in the T boning another car at speed situation. We also have lots of speed cameras that will nail you at 11 mph over. Those, I hate.
• Clubber

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  5 years ago

  I have no idea how they could even be legal. My daughter got a couple, but there was no way to identify who was driving the car. The car would NOT pay the ticket. :)
• Hank Moody

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  5 years ago

  Payment is voluntary. No points on your license if you do and it doesn’t get reported to insurance. If you want to contest it in court you are free to do so. The state has the burden of proof so maybe you show it wasn’t you. Most choose to just pay them.
• Hank Moody

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  5 years ago

  If you lose in court, you get the fine, the points, the insurance hike and the court costs. Not to mention the cost of your lawyer because defending yourself exposes you to testifying under oath. If you go into court to say it wasn’t you driving and are under oath, what are you going to say when the prosecutor or judge asks you if you know who was driving? Then they ask you who has regular access to your car? And on and on. :)
• IfIGottaBeDamned

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  5 years ago

  At a presentation I attended in Maryland, a police officer told us that the red-light cameras and the speeding cameras are used to issue tickets for “non-moving violations”. Which is the same category as a parking ticket. In non-moving violations, the liability is attached to the car and therefore the owner of the car. The owner is responsible for paying the ticket. The police & court don’t care who the driver is. Which is why they don’t record points and notify insurance (which at most tightly associated with the driver). Rental car companies will pass on the cost of these tickets to you, but that’s covered under civil / contract laws.
• Call.Me.Ishmael

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  5 years ago

  They have a few in Providence. I haven't been caught... yet.
• Muddy

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  5 years ago

  I would say it's probably a good thing. If they get you, they show you that picture, and damn they got you dead to rights. It sucks for the good drivers, who make a mistake from time to time. But it's great for the assholes who get nailed by at all the time.
• san_jose_guy

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  5 years ago

  Been pinched by those myself, Fremont CA. Saw the flash go off, new I was caught. Eventually it came in the mail. SJG Mexico City [view link] [view link] [view link] Wouldn't it just be the ultimate to have an apartment in one of these neighborhoods?
• JamesSD

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  5 years ago

  San Diego got rid of all of ours.
• Papi_Chulo

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  5 years ago

  Supposedly there's been a few lawsuits w.r.t. these cameras and part of the reason many cities have stopped using them although the courts I think said they could - but seems like the wide-discontent along w/ various lawsuits have made many cities discontinue them.
• BoringLoser

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  5 years ago

  You could probably contest it if you catch it on your dash mounted go pro camera
• Papi_Chulo

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  5 years ago

  LOL
• Call.Me.Ishmael

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  5 years ago

  BoringLoser... I don't know about red light cams, but I know that dash-mounted GoPro footage has been used to overturn charges stemming from a traffic stop.
• eastsidecap

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  5 years ago

  I say fuck the RL cameras. Some states have ruled them unconstitutional since there is no cop to testify or cross examine in court. It’s a total money grab. Big in Chicago
• CJKent (Banned)

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  5 years ago

  @Papi; I got one of those when they were really expensive in California, they are of course an scam between the companies that sell, install and operate them. It is really highway robbery, collusion between the police, the court system and the business. It is possible to fight the ticket and beat it, if the court system functions the way it supposed to, but as we all know it is “Justice for Some”, the rich and powerful and celebrities etc. I used to be able to beat all the unjustified tickets I received in the 1990’s and 2000’s; Badass car and Harley chopper profiling by the many envious haters in law enforcement. As advised by a professor, that used to be a Sargent in LAPD, just make sure you don’t get them more scared that what they already are (because they would shoot you) and be cool, collected, curtesious and professional. And most would let you go. But if you get a ticket, fight it and just make sure than when you show to court the cop is a “no show”; if you know what I mean; the judge will typically dismiss the citation—meaning you win the case and don’t have to pay the fine or worry about the violation going on your record. You can google how to fight the ticket and find a way to win, take it as a challenge, and adventure. Just don’t get the judge or anyone mad because they will retaliate against you. These are a couple of websites that have good information: [view link] [view link] Always remember; “In keeping silent about evil, in burying it so deep within us that no sign of it appears on the surface, we are implanting it, and it will rise up a thousand fold in the future. When we neither punish nor reproach evildoers, we are not simply protecting their trivial old age, we are thereby ripping the foundations of justice from beneath new generations.” Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago 1918-1956
• BoringLoser

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  5 years ago

  How do you make sure the cop is a no show?
• epicsmedley

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  5 years ago

  Chicago and the IL, politicians probably top 5 most corrupt in the country, and I'm being generous. handful of the past governors are in jail, and I Definitely a couple of rolling reds with still cam images, rolling stop violations most if not all at busy times, mind you. Even some BS tollway system issues which were all resolved, but if I didn't notice the letter in the mail in the time allowed it would have been 20$ per violation 50 cent or 1.00., I had one up to 160 in fees since I used the tollway every day for work, AND it was their fault.
• goldmongerATL

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  5 years ago

  As for proving you were driving, many of the ones in Georgia take three pictures. The car and its tag behind the line at the moment the light is red. The car entering the intersection after that. From a 2nd camera a photo of the driver.
• epicsmedley

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  5 years ago

  Yep, if I remember correctly , it was pretty the same for Lake County, IL. all nicely wrapped up in envelope with Black and White images on a standard piece of paper.
• CJKent (Banned)

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  5 years ago

  @BoringLoser To answer your question; You can increase the chances of getting a no show; Postpone the court date as many time as is allowed, this can significantly increase the possibility that the officer will not be present during the trial, because he might forgot the details of the case, or might interfere with his personal life. Never go with the date on your ticket, because cops try and scheduled all of their court dates an the same day. If you schedule for an extension that falls on a different day, it is likely they aren't going to come in on their day off just for one person. When rescheduling choose a court date that is closer to the holidays or summer vacation days when most cops in that are are on vacation. But first you might want to try the “trial by mail” (Trial by Declaration if you are entitled to it in your state). You submit your case to show you are innocent in a letter, and the cop that gave you the ticket must do the same. Now days cops will often show up for court because it may be an overtime opportunity, “trial by mail” is a lot of paperwork, and they will often not bother to submit their side of the story (equivalent to no show) because might not be paid for it. If you “lose” the trial by mail, you can still request the in person trial. We in California also have the right to a speedy trial (45 days from the date of the infraction) and if you know the courts are busy as won’t be able to hear your case , within those 45 days, then your case must be dismissed. like the professor that was a LAPD Sargent told us; “Accidents will happen sometimes, no matter how careful a man might be...” “Your honor, this is a tragic accident,and one of the saddest stories that the court will ever hear. But it did not involved criminal intent.” @Papi You can fight the camera ticket in court, if they don’t bring the video and show it, case dismissed, if they bring the video; as soon as someone (typically a cop) says anything to “prove their case”, you just object "hearsay". If the cop didn't actually see you do anything, he or she is relying on the observations of someone/something else. As a result, the cop can't testify as to what you did wrong., case dismissed. I used to think it was my duty to get justice, no duty, my privilege to get justice and do the right thing, fight for the right when I was young. Now I may be to old for that... You young guy go ahead is your turn, enjoy the privilege...
• Electronman

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  5 years ago

  This discussion about traffic cameras reminds me to avoid driving a convertible, especially when chauffeuring a hooker who might be providing the driver some special attention.
• Lil_Baller100

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  5 years ago

  i don't fucking give a shit, i will drag race through a fucking red light. car repairs and speeding tickets be damned.
• Rxeza

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  5 years ago

  Instead of blaming the cameras, blame your refusal to follow basic traffic traffic laws.
• Clubber

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  5 years ago

  Jimmy, You state "If you lose in court, you get the fine, the points, the insurance hike and the court costs. Not to mention the cost of your lawyer because defending yourself exposes you to testifying under oath. If you go into court to say it wasn’t you driving and are under oath, what are you going to say when the prosecutor or judge asks you if you know who was driving? Then they ask you who has regular access to your car? And on and on. :)" All valid points. One word comes to mind, extorsion!
• ATACdawg

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  5 years ago

  All you have to do to avoid a RL ticket is NOT run a red, NOT push a yellow and NOT do a "rolling stop."
• AZFourTwenty

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  5 years ago

  In Arizona, you have xx days to respond to the ticket. If you do not respond, they have I believe 20 days to serve you by process server. All you need to do is take measures not to get served. If you are not served, the ticket is dismissed.
• Papi_Chulo

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  5 years ago

  ^ Really? That hadn't occurred to me - that's great insight. I was also wondering what color the sky is?
• Jascoi

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  5 years ago

  i got a ticket rolling slowly thru a public parking lot stop sign that was at the Start of an entrance ramp. it had a video camera focused on that stop sign.
• AZFourTwenty

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  5 years ago

  ^Papi, If you take your head out of your ass, you can see the sky.
• flagooner

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  5 years ago

  ^ And if you stopped smoking the Loser Leaf you may not be such a fucking retarded loser. But then again...
• max_starr

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  5 years ago

  One of my favorite speeding cam pictures from many years ago showed me going 40 in a 25 smoking a crack pipe...