Has anyone ever challenged a red light violation you've received in the mail? I've just received my 3rd one and I believe it's wrong. $75 is a good chunk of change these days, especially right at back-to-school time. I'm just wondering if it's worth the time/effort to challenge it. It was a right-on-red (allowed) and, in the video, I don't see where I did anything wrong. My husband received a violation for the exact same situation, but it was very clear that he never came to a stop. In my video, you can clearly see that I stopped, then proceeded with my turn...??
So, I'm just gonna suck it up and pay the stupid fine. Things ALWAYS tend to bite me smack in the rear when I try to argue or ignore them. Thanks y'all.
Definitely fight the ticket. Don't let them make revenue on you when it's not deserved. I actually think they do it intentionally hoping people will just pay the ticket!
A prominent Denton attorney published an article in the CrossTimbers Gazette a few years ago advising that you do not have to pay the ticket. They passed the law approving to install the red-light cameras, but they did NOT pass a law establishing a provision to collect the fines, nor to prosecute those that do not pay. Those tickets are a simple "civil" offense and I would toss it in the trash. They do not get reported to anyone. It will come up if you have a moving violation, but according to this attorney, they cannot enforce it nor include it in on the moving violation.
The red light cameras work on a metal plate in the road. It senses the movement of your vehicle. If you are moving 1/100 of an inch per minute, it will give you a ticket. There isn't any driver can tell that they are moving 1/100 of an inch per minute. They believe they have stopped. The states and cities are hurting for revenue and they just don't care that it costs you or that it will drive up your insurance.
Bottom Line: fight the ticket. If the hundreds of people that get these bogus tickets fight them the courts will be so full they will have to dismiss the tickets.
Good luck to you and yours.
If there's a video showing you stopped? Heck yeah, fight it! Sure, you have to go down to traffic court, but if it will save you from paying the ticket, plus paying increased insurance, it's worth the time you'll spend fighting it.
Yup.
There's a faulty camera at a 5 way intersection near my home. They flash EVERY SINGLE left hand turner (on a green arrow). It's been doing this for 2 years. I strongly suspect they've left it up and working that way because of the increased revenue from people who pay their ticket without question. I know myself and ALL my neighbors have written and complained. After my first challenged ticket (won, ticket dismissed, driving record cleared) I STILL get flashed every time I turn left, but they haven't sent any more tickets (there would be hundreds). I guess I'm either on an 'exempt' list or they just throw out all tickets from the left hand turn lane.
It's worth a try.....
people do win in the red light camera situations - the cameras are not smart - they are created by computer software and are not capable of independent thought. go for it mama.
I think it is worth fighting the ticket. Look up the legal definition of a stop. Get someone else's opinion of the video clip. Then decide if you want to fight it. They will let you pay it out over time. The red light cameras in FW really irritate me--the cameras are from one state and then you send your fine to another state. It just looks like a racket to raise revenue. I would love to know if these cameras have reduced the number of accidents at intersections.
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I tried fighting a red light ticket one time and it was a waste of my time.
They will probably tell you that you did not come to a complete stop and if you did it wasn't behind the line. I just make sure I stop at every yellow light and fully before I turn right on red. I have had three red light tickets and yes it is such a waste of money. You can try but they judge looked at me like I was an idiot and why was I there.
Definitely fight it. And if they turn the other cheek and bury their heads in the sand like they like to do with this stuff, there's always Saul Garza...
In California red light camera tickets are OPTIONAL on whether you want to pay it. When you fight it is when it becomes mandatory. For this reason the cameras were pulled from use over there. I think dfw fox 4 news did a story on them recently bc of this unknown fact. Check into this first before fighting it. Good luck.
We had a red light camera snap a picture of our car in DC running a red light, problem was we weren't there and it wasn't our car, just a red Honda Civic, but you really couldn't read the plates. The ticket was dropped, I wrote a note saying it's not us and not our car.
If you go to the courts with the video and show them you stopped then they should drop it.
My husband got a red light camera ticket and in the video, he definitely stopped once and then moved forward a little bit and stopped again. He fought it and the judge dismissed it. It was a right on a red ticket not for running a red light.
The reason the camera went off on him is he did not stop behind the white line in the intersection.
I would definitely challenge it. One thing though, this doesn't go on your record. A few people mentioned that and I wanted to clear that up. The only tickets that can go on your record are the ones that are written by an actual person. Your insurance won't go up. With that said, it's clear that these cameras are just a money maker for the city and ticketing rights on red is ridiculous. There are several cases across the country where people are challenging the whole idea of red light cameras.
My opinion...... TIME = $$$
How much time invested are you willing to take away from your earning potential to fight this and it most likely not come out in your favor which would mean MORE $$ out of your pocket.
Yes, I hate the red light tickets, I have received one. I think they are quite tricky, especially with right turns but I prefer to spend my time earning revenue for me vs the city when it comes to fighting it.
If you go for it... Best wishes!!
It can't hurt to fight it. I would.
