I was driving in Newport Beach, intersection at Triangle Square for those that know it. Got nabbed by a red light camera, ticket shows up in the mail within a week. Its $366! I was like What The WTF!
Anyway, I was talking to someone yesterday who says they read somewhere that people aren't paying these tickets as they are from a private company and technically they can't come after you or put points on your license. Sounds fishy and I'm not about to get in trouble based on here-say but you guys usually know your stuff here on the M5 Board.
Anyone know anything about this?
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I hear you. My Wife got a red light ticket in Oregon about 5 months ago.
My advice.
Pay it. I have heard the same thing, but I don't want someone coming to my door someday, and arresting me ... well, you get my drift.
If you can think of any reason why it "may" have been a mistake, write a letter to the JUDGE, explain the circumstances, and send it with your payment ($ 366).
In my Wife's case, I sent a letter to the Judge explaining her confusion with the intersection in question. (Her reaction was similar ... "It wasn't me," but the pictures (4) didn't lie.) He thanked her for the letter, and knocked 30% off the ticket. (We got a refund.)
You have learned a lesson ... big brother is watching.
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"The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance; it is the illusion of knowledge."
What a joke those cameras were here in Charlotte. They have all been turned off because of two reasons. The city promised a certain % of proceeds would go to the public school system. It turns out, the private company running the cameras was charging $0.70 on every $1.00 collected so the city quickly ran up a $5 million debt to the school system. What idiots. Oh yeah, and rear end collisions significantly increased at those intersections. Good job.
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It is. If you take into consideration California stops (rolling), "No Right Turn on Red" signs, "No Right Turn on Red" during certain hours signs, Carpool lane (in my Wife's case, the Carpool lane was the right lane from which she had to turn right!).
It's just a money grabber. And, I wonder how much is really made for the city (as ECB noted)?
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"The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance; it is the illusion of knowledge."
It is. If you take into consideration California stops (rolling), "No Right Turn on Red" signs, "No Right Turn on Red" during certain hours signs, Carpool lane (in my Wife's case, the Carpool lane was the right lane from which she had to turn right!).
It's just a money grabber. And, I wonder how much is really made for the city (as ECB noted)?
Whaaaaat? No right turn on reds? In here you can do that unless there's a sign that tells you otherwise. And here I thought Californians were the crazy ones.
Come on... it is not that hard to NOT go through red lights!
If you can slide a 2 ton car around a turn at 80mph, you can figure out how to not run a red light- right on red, no right turns, etc, etc included.
To the OP. Does the picture clearly show your face? If not, fight it. There is plenty of info on how to do this. You DO NOT need to explain WHO was driving- the state must prove it was you. YOU DO NOT MAKE ANY STATEMENTS, DO NOT LIE, DO NOT TAKE THE STAND. At some point you will simply say "Your honor, the state has failed to prove their case, there has been no testimony nor evidence that I was driving, I move for dismissal'. The slimebag 'judge' will ask for your side of the story. Say "I'd rather not, the state has not proved their case." (Note- be careful with these traffic courts...the judges do their best to get civilians to screw up, stuff they will not do when counsel is representing a defendant.)
You can also search around and see if there is anything going on with red light camera calibrations or broad scale contesting of their accuracy...
The business of not responding is kind of like the internet lore of paying the ticket with 1 cent MORE and thinking it will prevent them from closing out the ticket....If you read the ticket, it looks just like a 'real' ticket, with threats of court action, fines, bench warrants and arrest, right?
from my understanding, the cameras are controlled by a private company but the tickets are typically and should be issued by the court. check who the fine is payable to. i wont comment on whether to pay or not if it is a private company but here is some info:
I was like What The WTF!
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